Silver and Gold
by Silver-WhiteKyurem
Summary: All of Silver's life she has wanted to write the ultimate story. After that, her life would be complete. When Claude Faustus overhears her talking to herself one cool night, he decides that this opportunity is too good to pass up. But what happens when he discovers that he can not only learn from the strange girl, but learn to feel for her as well?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Contract**

"Augh...just one more chapter...I'll give them one more chapter before I go to bed...just one more..."

This statement was followed by the fast, incessant clinking of computer keys. The author stared hard at the laptop screen in front of her, her blue-gray eyes a little unfocussed as she noticed strange blotches in front of them. She grunted and removed her metallic-gray framed glasses and cleaned the lenses, sliding them back up her nose before continuing. Her somewhat messy dark-brown hair fell into her face, and she growled softly as she fixed it once again. Her hair wasn't very long; in fact, she was often mistaken for a young man from behind. However, her bangs were just long enough to fall into her eyes and obscure her vision, which annoyed her endlessly.

The young women sighed and sat back, scanning over what she had typed in the past few minutes. She gave an exasperated sigh and readjusted the oversized green "Gir" themed headphones she wore almost religiously now. She looked down at the clock on her screen and groaned: it was 1:30 in the morning, and she had class tomorrow.

"I guess that's what I get for trying to finish more Dr. Who today. Dammit." she sighed and looked over her shoulder at her sleeping room mate's form, making sure she had not woken her up.

Satisfied that the girl was undisturbed, the young author leaned forward and opened a new tab. She quickly logged into her Facebook account and looked over her News Feed, then moved on to the pages she admined: all eleven of them. The biggest one, White Kyurem, required the most attention. The fans there expected a lot from their admins, or so it seemed, and the woman was more than happy to oblige them. She loved talking to people.

Seeing that a fan had commented on a picture she had posted, the young woman smiled and typed a quick reply before logging onto her account on . She was happy to see that she had a reply from an author she had been in communication with, someone going by the name of VampireSiren. She answered the author's reply quickly and signed it with the pen name she used for just about anything; Silver.

Silver then checked over her stories to see if there were any new readers or reviews. Seeing nothing new, she logged out and returned to the chapter she had been typing. She was tired, yes, exhausted, but she had grown used to it. That was simply how college was, not to mention the other stressful things Silver put herself through. But she did all of it for a reason; it brought her contentment. Perhaps not _happiness_, but contentment was close enough for her.

An hour later, Silver finally sat back and sighed. She had finished two more chapters to one of her stories and posted it. She hoped to get reviews soon. Casting a quick glance around again, the young woman turned off her laptop and stood up. She stretched, as spending so long hunched over her desk hurt her back, then quietly left the room. She wandered the brightly-lit hall up to the front of the residence hall and gave the security guard at the front desk a quick nod before pushing the front door open and walking out into the chill of the night.

The grounds of this area of the college campus were absolutely beautiful, especially at night. Silver often came out here when she was feeling uneasy, or when she simply wanted to be outside. There were several large pine trees around the three residence halls in the area, and their massive cones littered the ground abundantly. The air had a crisp smell of nature and leaves, and Silver inhaled deeply before walking slowly away from the front of the building. She meandered over to her favorite spot; it was a large gazebo built of marble-like stone and black steel. It was open at the top, letting moonlight filter in and illuminate the Latin words carved into a faded gold plaque on the gazebo's floor.

Silver loved this spot. She had seen a fox once while sitting there, on the phone with her boyfriend, who lived several hours away. It had trotted happily into view from the side late at night, and had paused several feet in front of her, staring into her eyes. She stared back in surprised wonder. The creature then trotted off, seemingly deciding that she was a friend and not a foe. Ever since then, the young woman loved to sit in that gazebo and wait for her friend to pass, which it did every once in a while, where they repeated the encounter.

Finally reaching the gazebo, Silver sat down and leaned back against the cool marble, pulling her trademark purple jacket tighter around herself to ward off the cold. She stared out over the nearly silent grounds, letting a kind of relaxed lethargy settle over herself. She yawned and chuckled to herself.

"Good thing tomorrow is Friday. I can take a nap after class." she smirked and leaned her head back, thinking about some of the fanfics she had been working on.

Most of them involved demons that granted wishes and made contracts with people. Of course, there was a price. The demon got to eat the person's soul in the end, once the contract had been fulfilled. It was a truly chilling tale, but it was a popular one. Silver chuckled again.

"I would gladly give my soul to a demon if it could help me write the ultimate story. Something that everyone who read it would love." she mused to herself, closing her eyes as a cool breeze blew by.

"Is that so?" a deep voice purred from above her, and Silver's eyes flew open.

She looked up above her to see who, or what, had spoken to her. She was shocked to see that moonlight was no longer filtering in threw the top of the gazebo. The hole was blocked by the body of a massive spider; a truly massive spider. It's misty body seemed to be made of shadow, and was clearly not completely solid, yet was solid enough to block the light. Its eight long legs bent down and blocked off the exits to the gazebo, and it looked down at her curiously with cold golden eyes.

Silver shuddered and found that she couldn't move; she was _terrified _of spiders, and this one was huge. Not to mention that the creature had _spoken _to her. Silver tried to gain her composure, and decided to speak back to it. She was afraid, but curious as well. She had never met a talking spider before, and was curious to see what it had to say.

"What...what did you say?" she asked softly, her voice trembling.

"I said, is that so? You said you would make a contract with a demon if it would help you write the ultimate story. I'm asking if that was just words, or if you would really give up your soul for something like that." it replied, leaning a bit closer and looking at her closely.

"Uhm..." Silver thought carefully, looking around.

"Do you know any demons?" she asked.

"I _am _one."

Silver nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I thought so. Uhm, it could take a couple of years to get a story like that written, edited, and published." she said carefully.

"I can wait. And help. Do we have a contract?" it asked in its deep voice.

Something deep inside Silver told her to scream "no" and run as fast as she could. However, she was extremely curious as to what this contract could do for her. Plus, she felt that her goal in life _was _to write a book unlike any other. If this demon could help her achieve that, then she felt it was well worth her soul. She didn't know what else she planned to do with it.

"Fine, I accept. We'll make a contract." she said, looking up into the giant spider's eyes.

"Excellent. Where do you want your mark?" it asked.

Silver thought carefully. She was familiar with this, as she had seen it in many legends and shows. The demon placed a mark on himself and his prey, the human, to make the bond of the contract. The more visible it was, the stronger the contract. However, she would have to keep it hidden so no-one would suspect anything odd.

"How about my right eye? I could cover it with an eye patch. Explain it as an accident of some sort." she suggested.

The answer was a burning pain in her right eye. She groaned and covered it with her hands, closing both of her eyes and tearing up at the pain.

"It will pass soon." the deep voice said, and she felt a soft touch on her hands.

She looked up sharply to see that the giant spider was gone. Instead, a tall, thin man wearing a black butler's outfit, tailcoat and all, stood in front of her. He had beautiful, yet cold, gold eyes, and wore a pair of glasses. His hair was somewhat short and smoothed back, and he looked at her with a blank look.

"Complete the contract, my lady. Give me a name. Call my name and I shall serve you until the contract is complete." he said softly, looking at her intently.

Silver sighed and thought about a cool name. She couldn't just give him some common name, that would be lame. She finally decided on one she remembered faintly from an article she had read online a long time ago. She looked up into the demon's face and smiled.

"Claude Faustus."

**Author's note-So, obviously, this fanfic is going to be very different than most. I'm telling it as if Claude is here, in my life, helping me get things done. It ought to be fun. I hope he likes Psychology and Dr. Who! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Place to Stay**

Silver sighed and looked around, making sure no-one had seen them. Satisfied, she turned to look back at Claude, who was busy trying to keep the wind from blowing his hair into his face.

"Okay, Claude, we have three problems right now. One, my eye has a glowing purple mark in it, and it's turned purple as well. Two, I have to sneak a grown man in a butler uniform into the dorm. Three, there is no-where for you to hide or stay in my room, and I have a room mate." Silver whispered, standing up carefully.

"You could easily shield your eye from view with your bangs, as they are quite long. As for the last two issues, they are easy enough to remedy. Watch." a small smirk crossed Claude's face before he suddenly vanished.

"Ah! Claude? Where did you go?" Silver whispered fearfully, glancing around.

"I'm down here, and be careful not to step on me." Claude's voice came from the ground.

Silver looked down to see a small spider black spider with a tiny golden dot on its back at her feet. She smiled and reached down carefully to scoop him up, and he crawled quickly into the palm of her hand. She held him up to her face and looked at him with a grin.

"You're not nearly as scary when you're little like this, Claude. Hee~!" she giggled at him.

"Quite. Shall we go inside, my lady? You look like you need to sleep." the tiny spider asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Yeah, hold on. Let my put you somewhere you won't be easily noticed." Silver answered, rolling a sleeve of her jacket up and placing the spider on her wrist.

"Will that be okay for just a minute?" she asked, rolling the sleeve back down carefully.

"Yes, it will be fine." Claude's voice answered, slightly muffled by the fabric.

Silver smiled and walked back to the building, scanning her school ID in the scanner to get the door unlocked. Once the door unlocked with a loud click she pushed it open and trotted inside, flashing her ID card at the security guard. The man smiled and nodded at her.

"See anything interesting tonight? Like that fox again?" he asked; he worked there often, and Silver had told him of the creature she felt was her friend.

"Eh, not really. Maybe next time." she said quickly, giving him a friendly nod before jogging back towards her room.

When she finally eased the door open, she peeked in carefully to make sure that her room mate was still asleep. She was, so Silver slunk quietly into the room and eased the door shut behind her. She walked to her desk and rolled her sleeve up, allowing Claude to crawl onto her desk. He turned to look up at her as she shrugged the jacket off and hung it over the back of her desk chair.

"Where shall I stay, my lady?" he asked, watching her with miniscule gold eyes.

Silver looked at her side of the room carefully, thinking.

"Well, not over there at the shelf near the door. That's where my fish lives, and I don't want him to eat you..." she mused quietly.

"What kind of fish is it?"

"He's a beta. His name is Captain America because he's red, white, and blue. I either call him Cap or Steve for short."

Claude chuckled softly and watched as Silver looked around.

"Oh, I know! You see the shelf here, attached to the back of my desk? You can build a little web under the ledge, near the back corner. Hopefully my room mate doesn't see you and try to smush you while I'm in class." Silver said with a worried look.

"I think your room mate would find that it is not very easy to "smush" me." Claude replied, crawling up to the corner she had pointed out.

"Okay, you make your web, and don't look at me for a few minutes. I need to change into some night clothes."

"Yes, my lady."

Silver changed quickly into a pair of black sweatpants and a blue shirt, then hopped up onto her bed, which was next to the desk. She pulled the blankets over herself and glanced quickly at her alarm clock; it was a little past 2:00. She sighed.

"At least I don't have to get up until 8:00. My room mate will be gone to class by then, too, so you can come out." Silver whispered, looking over at the desk.

"Yes, my lady." Claude's voice answered quietly; she couldn't see him, but could tell where he was from his voice.

"Alright. Goodnight, Claude."

"Goodnight, my lady."

Within several minutes Silver had drifted off to sleep, lying on her stomach with the blankets a tangled mass around her small body. Claude crawled out from his web and jumped off of the desk, changing into his human form before landing silently at the edge of her bed. He simply stood over her and watched her sleep, his golden eyes blank and emotionless. A small smirk crept across the demon's face.

"Yes...goodnight, indeed, my lady." he whispered softly before turning back into the small spider and returning to his web.

It had been a very long time since Claude's last contract, and none of his previous master's had been as odd as this girl seemed like she was going to be; at least not in the same way. The Trancy brat had been an odd human as well, but his oddness was closer to insanity. Silver's was borderline eccentric from what he could tell of her half of the room. The spider smirked again before settling into his space for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**A Usual Day**

Claude sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for Silver to get back from her classes. She had been gone for two hours, and now...he was bored. _Very _bored. It wasn't that Silver didn't have anything interesting in her room. There was a TV balanced on top of the wardrobes that held her and her room mate's clothes. She had a drawer under her bed full of all sorts of books and manga. Her laptop sat unopened on her desk. There were notebooks full of interesting drawings stacked up on the side of the desk.

No, the issue wasn't that there was nothing to do. The issue was that he didn't want to do any of it. None of these things were really his sort of entertainment. In fact, he didn't really _have _a form on entertainment. He simply sat on the bed, waiting for Silver to get home. Then he could begin working on fulfilling his contract; and make a meal of her soul.

Suddenly, the door clicked and swung open. Claude immediately turned himself into the small spider and scuttled over to one of the stripes on the zebra-print cover, trying to hide in the blackness. To his relief, it was Silver, not her room mate. He turned back quickly as she walked into the room and slung her dark blue backpack to the ground.

"Hello, Claude." she said cheerily, pulling her headphones around her neck and sitting down at her desk.

"Hello, my lady." he answered in his monotonous voice.

Silver looked up at him and smirked.

"What have you been up to since I've been gone?" she asked, turning on her laptop and digging through her backpack.

"Just sitting here."

"Just sitting here? For two hours?"

"Yes, my lady."

Silver blinked at him, then chuckled at him.

"That must have been boring as Hell." she joked teasingly.

"No, I can assure you Hell is much more interesting than sitting on a bed for two hours." Claude said, his voice as dry as cardboard.

Silver snickered.

"So, Claude, when did you graduate from Kill-joke University?" she asked sarcastically, pulling a heavy Statistics book into her lap and opening a couple of programs on her laptop.

"I've never heard of such a university, none the less attended." Claude answered with a slightly confused look.

"My, it never ends. You know, for a demon, you're being rather dull on your first day."

Claude's brow furrowed.

"Does that displease you?" he asked.

Silver giggled at him and rolled her eyes.

"No, I just need to get used to your personality. Heck, I've got to get used to having a demon living in my desk." she said, grabbing an orange notebook and opening it.

Claude sighed softly and looked at the notebook.

"Homework?" he asked.

"Yes, Statistics. Heh, my professor looks like Einstein!" she said cheerily, as if that mere fact amused her greatly.

"Can I help you?"

"I'll ask if I need it. I have to pull my GPA up a bit to stay in the Honors College program, so I really need to learn the material. If I need help, I'll ask." Silver replied, typing a string of numbers into a database as she spoke.

"Very well. I think I need to get to know you better." Claude said, surprising her.

"Oh? Okay, ask away. I can handle two things at once." she said with a curious grin, keeping her eyes on the screen.

"Age?"

"19. I'll be twenty in November, the third."

"Classes?"

"Statistics, Tai-Chi, Honors Research Prep. In the Social Sciences, Honors Evolutionary Psychology, Life in Ancient Britain and Ireland, and Criminology."

"Don't you think that's a bit much?"

"Not anymore, with Claude the spider demon to help me out."

"True. Do you have a lot of friends here?"

"Several. Loads."

"Boyfriend, fiance, husband?"

"_Had _a boyfriend, we ended it a few weeks ago. He couldn't handle how awesome I am at a distance."

"You're a bit cocky, aren't you?"

"No, I just feel comfortable being a smartarse to you."

Claude lifted an eyebrow at her.

"And why, pray tell, is that?" he asked with a somewhat nippy tone.

"Because, as we have a contract, you cannot hurt me." Silver shot at him with a quick smile.

Claude nodded slowly; it was true.

"So, Claude, I want to ask _you _something." Silver said suddenly, turning away from her work to look up at him.

"Yes, my lady?" Claude asked curiously.

"What do you do for fun? Besides sit on beds and stare at ceilings?"

"Fun?"

Silver blinked at him in surprise.

"Yeah, fun. You know, enjoyment. Examples. For me, it's drawing, writing, listening to music, playing my saxophone, among other things. What about you?" she asked.

"Nothing. I don't find things _fun_. I merely find them interesting." Claude replied dryly.

Silver sighed and stared at the laptop, thinking.

"We are going to have to find a way to change that, Claude. After I finish my homework, we're going to find something that you will find _fun_." she said with an amused smile, poking him in the chest.

The demon blinked at her, his eyebrows arcing and his golden eyes flashing slightly. Silver smirked at the startled look on his face, the first real expression she had seen from the dull man. She wasn't sure if it had been her comment or her touch that had caused it, but it didn't matter; she had gotten some sort of expression out of him.

A thought suddenly occurred to her, and she grinned.

"Have you ever seen Dr. Who?"

**Author's Note-Yes, she's making him watch the Doctor. Because no one can find it not fun. Poor Claude has no idea what he's gotten himself into.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Fun?**

Silver looked from the book to her computer screen, glad that she was almost done with her homework. She was also glad that her room mate was not going to be returning until Sunday; she was staying with a friend off-campus to visit. Which meant that Silver had plenty of time to find out what could bring a smile to the demon's face. She smiled happily once the final graph showed up on the screen, and she quickly scribbled down the information she needed. Claude watched her silently, not having said a word since they had spoken earlier.

"Annd...I'm done!" Silver declared with a grin, tossing her notebook quickly at Claude with a mischievous grin.

The demon easily caught the projectile and sat it down by his side, lifting an eyebrow at her playfulness.

"Are you always like this?" he asked carefully.

"No, just most of the time. Alright, Dr. Who time. Sit with your back to the wall and scootch your bootch." she chimed, typing quickly on her laptop.

"What?" he asked, his eyebrows arching higher.

"Move your ass. Scoot over so I can watch, too."

"Ah. Yes, my lady." the demon replied, scooting over.

Silver hopped up onto the bed and sat next to him, so close that they were actually touching. Claude didn't react, nor did he flinch when she sat her laptop so that it was balancing in their laps. She smiled and made herself comfortable while Claude waited patiently, his face a cold mask of emotionlessness.

"Okay, we are going to start with the ninth Doctor. Episode one, season one, and work our way up. Turn off the light, please, Claude!" she said.

"Yes, my lady."

Several hours later, Silver sat with her head leaning ever so slightly against the demon's broad shoulder, watching the screen intently. Claude was sitting up as strait as ever, his eyes focused on the screen as well. He was as emotionless as ever, but his eyebrows were knit slightly as he watched the last episode of the first season. Silver, on the other hand, was struggling not to cry. When the episode finally ended she closed the laptop and sniffled softly.

"Sorry, the end of the season always makes me cry. I just loved the ninth Doctor. Anyway, what did you think?" she asked, reaching over him to turn the light back on.

"It was...interesting." he replied simply.

"That's it? Interesting?"

"Yes, that is it. Just interesting."

"That's it. If you don't think Dr. Who is fun, then you obviously cannot appreciate the meaning of life." Silver said with an almost pitying look at the demon.

"The meaning of life? Which is...?" Claude asked.

"_To live it._ What do you live for, Claude Faustus?"

"To eat souls. That is all. Feed to survive."

Silver made a retching noise in the back of her throat.

"That's so boring! No wonder you're so dull! You're a _demon, _for Hell's sake! You live for a _very _long time, you should try to enjoy your life! It's so long!" she said with a wave of her arms.

Claude watched her carefully as she put the laptop back on the desk, his golden eyes somewhat narrow. Perhaps this girl was more than she appeared. She certainly knew more about demons than she should, but that could be easily explained by her strange tastes. He had to admit that she had a point. He had found that his life was rather boring, simply making contracts and eating souls.

"What do I do, then, my lady?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" Silver turned to look at him curiously.

"What do I need to do to have "fun"? How do I live my exceptionally long life and enjoy it?" his voice, for once, was not a dull monotone; it was a plea for her help.

Silver stared up at him, completely surprised. Less than 24 hours ago she had asked this demon to grant her wish. Now he was asking for help to grant his. A wish that she suspected he had been hiding deep within his cold heart for a very long time. She smiled, calm for the first time since she had made the contract with the spider demon.

She reached up carefully and pulled off the eye patch Claude had given her that morning, revealing the glowing purple mark in her eye. Claude watched her as she tossed the patch onto her desk.

"For one, you stop calling me "my lady"? I'm not formal enough for such a title. Now, you need to loosen up. I get a feeling you've been such a stiff for a reason. But it's okay. You can still be the same old Claude, whoever that is, and enjoy yourself. For now, I'm going to bed, so to your corner, please!" she grinned and hopped up onto the bed.

Claude nodded and jumped down, then turned to her and..._smiled. _It was a somewhat creepy smile, as if he wasn't used to doing it and was in need of practice, but it was still a smile. It vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, however, replaced by his usual bland look. Silver sighed; at least it was a start.

**Author's Note-Okay, I admit Claude was a ****_bit _****(lot) out of character there, but I've always thought that he could be a lot more fun. And I had to get the ball rolling on this story, too. Hope it wasn't ****_too _****much blasphemy! I also apologize for its shortness, but this chapter is just to introduce the beginning of what Silver has to teach Claude-how to actually live life.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Weeks and Weaknesses**

Claude had to admit, Silver was one of the most interesting souls he had ever contracted. She was so spastic and eccentric, it was nearly insane. Yet she had taught him so much. He was finally beginning to understand the concept of _fun_, though the lesson had not been an easy one to learn. It had taken a lot of work to make smiling easy for the spider butler, none the less laughing and being imaginative.

At first, he had simply been tagging along with his master's wishes because it was part of the contract. That had changed when she had announced that she had purchased not one, but two, tickets to a concert in Raleigh, North Carolina. She had said that one of her favorite dubstep artists, a woman who went by the name of Eclipse, was playing at the convention center and she had always wanted to see her live. So, the day before the concert, she snuck him out of her dorm in a pocket and they caught a bus from Wilmington to Raleigh. It had been a long ride, but ended up being totally worth it in the end.

At first, Claude had been very concerned about the concert when he noticed that there was another demon present, on stage, spraying paint over the audience. He had quickly forgotten about it, however, when Silver pulled him into the crowd and forced him to dance. Something inside the demon changed when he saw the young woman grinning up at him, her face and body covered in bright shades of pink, orange, green, and blue. For the first time, he understood fun. And it was wonderful.

Weeks had passed since then, and Claude was beginning to have second thoughts about the terms of the contract. They had not even started work on Silver's "ultimate story" yet, but she had mentioned to him several times that she had an idea for what she wanted to write. Claude had immediately gone a bit pale at this, but quickly hid it and smiled at her. It wasn't that he could not help her reach her goal.

He no longer wished to. He didn't want to extinguish this beautiful, joyous soul. He wanted to spend the rest of his life protecting it, and the body it resided in. He no longer wanted to make a meal of her. There was something there, something he had never been able to feel due to his previous outlook on life, simply survive. Now that he was actually living, he didn't want to extinguish the life that had given him his.

He sighed and looked up and over at the door to the room, waiting. It was a Friday morning, and Silver was in the shower. He sat in his usual morning spot; the edge of her bed, a book balanced on his lap. Suddenly, the door eased open, much slower than it usually did. Silver slowly walked into the room, dripping wet with a towel around her. This struck the demon as odd; she never came in like this, she was always in her clothes. Then he noticed that something was totally wrong.

Silver was wearing her underclothes under the towel, but carried the rest in one of her hands. In the other she held her shower supplies, using her elbow to hold the towel up. She was shuddering violently, and was extremely pale.

Claude immediately jumped off the bed and threw his book across the room, striding quickly to her side.

"Silver, what's wrong? Are you ill?" he asked quickly.

"Help me onto the bed." she answered weakly, dropping the stuff in her hands to the floor.

Claude quickly obeyed, scooping her up and laying her gently on her bed. She groaned and wrapped the towel tighter around herself; even in this sad state, she was embarrassed to be seen nearly naked by a man. Claude noticed her discomfort and quickly covered her with a blanket.

"Silver, what happened? Did you get sick?" he asked soothingly.

"N-no...passed out...in the shower..." she grumbled to him, shaking.

It took a moment for the man to register what she had said.

"What?" he nearly yelled, his golden eyes going wide.

"I was in the shower, and suddenly there was this terrible pain. It went all through me, like a wave. Then I started to feel nauseous, and it felt like the ground was swaying under me. It's happened before, so I managed to turn off the water and lie down before blacking out. When I came too, I just kind of lay there for a few minutes, and called out for help. No one heard me, I guess because the bathroom walls are so thick. I finally managed to get up, pull on what was necessary, and make it back here." Silver explained, wincing; apparently the pain was persisting.

"Silver, I am...so sorry I did not come and help...I had no idea...what can I do?" Claude asked, looking horrified.

"Just get me a couple of Ibuprofen, and let me sleep. As I said, this has happened before. It's nothing serious."

"Nothing serious? You passed out in the shower! You could have cracked your skull open!"

"But I didn't. I'm fine. Now, if you would get the-"

Before she could finish, the door flew open and her room mate walked in. She was about to greet Silver with a cheery "hello!", but froze when she saw the strange man in the black uniform standing next to the bed. Her expression got even more confused as she noticed Silver lying in the bed, covered in water and shuddering violently. She yelped loudly, then ran from the room. Claude stared after her in complete shock; in his panic over his master's health, he had not heard her coming. Silver groaned.

"I suggest you take some Ibuprofen, too. We're both going to have headaches when this is over."

**Author's Note-I actually do have this condition that makes me pass out sometimes, and it happened for the third time earlier this week. No worries, I'm fine. What will happen now that Claude has been seen, and under such awkward circumstances? Will he be able to explain his way out of being arrested? Or will things only get worse from here?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**A Narrow Escape**

Silver stared at Claude with horror; who knew what the RA was going to say when she came into the room!? She had no idea what kind of punishment the both of them could be facing. This was certainly a situation that looked much more awkward than it was. Claude, however, looked just as calm as he could be. He looked down at his master, somewhat annoyed that this situation was going to prevent him from helping her for at least a few minutes. With a sly smile the demon brought a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet and listen closely to him.

"I know a very simple way out of this, but it takes some rather clever acting on your part. Just follow along with everything that I say. I know you are in pain, and I will be able to assist you in a moment. Ah, I think I hear them approaching. Remember, shhh." he whispered, his voice serious.

At just that moment the door flew open, and Silver's room mate walked into the small room, followed by the RA. The RA's eyes widened a bit when she saw Claude, and it was clear that she had no idea how to approach the situation. Claude simply smiled at them and turned to face them.

"Hello. It's about time someone showed up." he said with a somewhat condescending air.

"W-what?" the RA asked, slowly getting over her initial surprise.

"She's been laying here calling for help for the past few minutes, how could you not have heard her? Now, one of you get the Ibuprofen out of the wardrobe and bring it to me. The other will get a small cup of water." Claude commanded with smooth confidence.

"Wait, hold on! Who are you and what the Hell is going on?" Silver's room mate yelled at him, clearly very unnerved by the demon's calm and collected demeanor.

"My name is Claude Faustus, I am Silver's friend. I was coming to check on her because we were going to meet at the dining hall for breakfast before class. I've been here several times before, so the person at the desk let me through. I found her like this, she said she'd gotten dizzy and passed out while in the shower. I'm taking care of it, this is not the first time it has happened, so there is no need to call for help. Just do as I asked." Claude replied coolly, his golden eyes narrowing.

"You stay right where you are. I'm going to go to the front desk and confirm your story. As for you, Pink, get what he asked for." the RA shot Claude a suspicious glare before walking quickly from the room.

Pink watched the demon nervously for a moment, then quickly grabbed the medicine he had asked for and set it on the desk where he could get it. She then grabbed a cup off of the shelf where the two kept their dishes and rushed out of the room to get some water. Silver looked up at Claude with a worried look.

"The RA is going to be pissed when she finds out you're not in the system." she muttered quietly.

"Ah, but I _am _in the system." Claude replied with a smirk.

"How?"

"Never underestimate the powers of a demon."

"What about the person at the desk?"

"As I said, my lady, _never _underestimate the power of a demon."

Silver was about to reply, but shut her mouth quickly as her room mate walked back into the room. Claude closed the distance between them and took the cup from her before she could spill it; in her anxiety, the cup was trembling violently. He thanked her with one of his most unnerving smiles and handed the cup to Silver, who took he medicine quickly and set the empty cup on the desk.

"Thank you, Pink." she said softly.

"Yeah. Silver, is this guy really a friend of yours? Don't you think he's...odd?" she asked, glancing at him nervously.

"Not really, no. I'm glad he came to make sure I was alright." Silver replied, keeping her tone as even as possible.

"Yes, but...he's so...intimidating..."

"Whatever he is, it must also be deaf. I can answer your questions just as well as Silver can. In fact, better, as she is still in pain. I ask now that you shut up and let her sleep." Claude interrupted, a slight growl in his voice.

Pink yelped and nodded quickly, grabbing her backpack and running from the room.

"Hope you feel better!" she yelled before vanishing down the hall.

Claude chuckled softly and walked to the door, looking over his shoulder at Silver with an amused smile.

"Get some sleep. I'll handle your RA, and email your professors to inform them that you won't be attending class today. I will be back in a few minutes. I hope to see you asleep by then." he said softly before closing the door behind him.

Silver shuddered; she could somewhat see how someone like Pink could think Claude was intimidating. She would admit it, he was. But there was a gentleness to his nature as well, at least when dealing with her. He was terribly strong, and it was impossible to forget that as a demon he was sadistic and cruel by nature. But there was a deliberate gentleness that he displayed around her. Of course, that was probably just for the sake of the contract. He had promised to protect her and help her achieve her goal. All he wanted was his payment; her soul.

Outside, Claude leaned against Silver's door and waited for the RA to return. Some of the other dorm mates passed him on their way to and from class, and they gave him odd looks before scurrying away. This situation was inconvenient, but there was a very obvious plus side; he no longer had to hide from these people all of the time. Of course, he still had to be disguised as a spider at night, as the RA would go crazy if she caught a grown man in the womens dorm after curfew. But, he could walk around with his master on campus and around the dorm freely now. Sure, he would still get odd looks, but he imagined that Silver got enough of those already, with how eccentric she was.

Claude smiled politely as he saw the RA approaching, looking much more relaxed now that she had affirmed that he was, indeed, a regular visitor to the dorm.

"Sorry about all of that. I thought you were someone who was not supposed to be here." she apologized somewhat sheepishly.

"I understand completely. You have a duty to your charges. Thank you for understanding." Claude smirked.

The RA was right about one thing; he _was _someone who was not supposed to be there, but he had no plans of leaving anytime soon.

**You guys know by now that bold print means author's note. At least I assume you do. You're smart, I'm sure of it. Anyway, I changed my room mate's name in this for identity purposes. And there's a hint of foreshadowing there at the end, too. Shouldn't Claude be trying to finish the contract ASAP so he can nom nom nom a new soul? What the Hell (hee, pun) is going on with the spider? **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Today is _perfect _for this!" Silver sighed, leaning against one of the trees outside her residence hall and watching Claude as he worked.

Claude nodded, keeping most of his focus on hanging up the hammock his master had rented from one of the nearby halls. She had returned from class early, as apparently one had been canceled, and had decided to relax outside after finishing some of her homework. Having quickly gotten that out of the way, she now waited for the demon to get the hammock strung up. Hammocks were a common sight around campus, and there were always at least a few strung up in the area of the residence hall.

"Indeed. It's odd for it to be this warm at this time of year." Claude replied, tying the last strings and taking a few steps back.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. I hate the cold. Alright, nap time!" Silver grinned and climbed into the hammock, squirming a bit until she was comfortable.

Several minutes of silence passed with Silver staring happily up into the trees and Claude standing next to the hammock, his usual blank expression across his face. Silver seemed to be thinking, which almost always led to some sort of strange idea or whim. After a moment, she finally voiced her thoughts.

"We should go out to town tonight." she said slowly, looking to him for his reaction.

He lifted an eyebrow at her.

"What, to party?" he asked curiously; he had been in this contract for only a few months, and never once had Silver wanted to get involved in the night life around the city.

"No, nothing like that. I thought we could walk around downtown a bit. There are a couple of shops I like out at the riverfront. We could go eat afterward. Can you pretend to enjoy human food for a little while?"

"Of course."

"Maybe after that we can go to the beach for a little while."

Claude furrowed his eyebrows at this.

"The water is still going to be cold, Silver. Plus, it'll be dark by then, I'm assuming. Lots of unpleasant things swim closer to shore at night." he warned gently.

"I'm confident in your ability to protect me. Besides, I don't want to swim. I just wanna walk along the shore and collect sea shells while no-one else is there. Maybe we can find shark's teeth! That would be cool." Silver mused, yawning.

"If you want to have the energy to do all of that, then I suggest you try to get a couple hours of sleep."

"What are you going to do?"

"Just stand here, I suppose."

"You can't do that, people will think you're creepy."

Claude smirked at that.

"Silver, people _already _think I'm creepy."

"Fine, creepier. Here, I'll scoot over and you join me." Silver mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

It was Claude's turn to be surprised.

"People are going to get the wrong idea when they walk or bike past and see us sharing a hammock." he said, making sure she understood what she was doing.

"A lot of people already have the wrong idea since you're around so much. Besides, it's the easiest way to explain your constant being here without rousing suspicion. I dunno why we didn't think of this earlier." Silver chuckled at the incredulous look Claude gave her.

"Pretend to be a couple?" he asked.

"Yupp. It's a Hell of a lot easier than explaining my spider demon butler."

Claude sighed and nodded. There was logic in her words; it was a good idea. It was just a little odd, which in retrospect was just like something he should have expected from his master. He smirked.

"Very well. Scoot over."

Silver grinned and moved to the far side of the hammock, reaching out to hold on to one of the trees as Claude climbed into it next to her. Once Claude had settled into his place, Silver tentatively scooted closer to him. She seemed somewhat nervous about it, and he chuckled at her.

"If we're going to pull this off, you are going to have to be a better actress than that." he teased, his newly developed sense of humor showing.

"Sorry. I was in a theater company in high school, but not as an actress. I did set design." Silver mumbled back at him, blushing a bit.

"That sounds like something you would do, with your artistic abilities. Is that all that you did?" he asked, curious; he hadn't asked much about her past life.

"No, I also helped out on stage. I was like a junior stage manager. It was a lot of fun. The first play we put on while I was there was a romantic-ish comedy called Almost, Maine. It was great. We had to make bags of love for one of the scenes."

"Bags of love?"

"Yeah. There was a scene where this girl got upset with her boyfriend and tried to return all of the love he gave her in bags. We got a bunch of red and white garbage bags and stuffed them with newspaper, and taped them together in long strings. It was fun."

Silver smiled and relaxed, leaning into the demon's side and closing her eyes.

"I've never thought to ask you, Claude, do demon's sleep?" she asked softly.

"It isn't something we need, but we do enjoy it occasionally as a luxury." Claude answered.

"Do you dream?"

"Sometimes."

"About what?"

Claude paused for a moment before responding.

"There are some things better left unsaid, my lady. Now, I suggest you go to sleep. I'll wake you up later so we can get ready for tonight's date." he chuckled, clearly enjoying the new role he was set to play.

"Hmph. Just keep your hands to yourself." Silver teased back, earning a soft snort and a roll of his golden eyes.

"Damn, you read my mind. Plan foiled."

Silver didn't respond, already nearly asleep. Claude smirked and simply lay there, staring up at the sky and not daring to let himself drift off as well, lest his dreams come back to haunt him.

**I just thought this would be a cute lil' chapter. Plus, I started wondering what demons dream about. I bet it's some pretty dark stuff. Hope you lot like it! Another chapter up after I actually go out on the town and change real life experience into story experience. Silver out!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Silver grinned as she jumped into the driver's seat of the small green car, unlocking the other side to allow Claude to join her. The demon climbed into his seat, shooting his master a curious look as he settled himself.

"I thought you didn't have a car?" he asked.

"I don't." Silver replied with a smile, starting the engine.

"Then what is this?"

"Not my car."

"You're stealing a car?" Claude's voice was incredulous, and Silver laughed loudly at him.

"No, it's my friend's. She said I could borrow it for the night, as long as I fill up the gas tank on the way home." Silver smirked at the somewhat relieved demon, then pulled her iPod out of her pocket and plugged it into the car.

"We need a good driving song to listen to on the way to the riverfront. Something with a good beat. What kind of music do demons listen to, Claude?" she asked curiously, looking through the lists of songs on the device.

"Meh, it's hard to describe. It's certainly nothing comparable to anything you would hear on the radio. In fact, it would probably drive humans insane." Claude mused.

"Well, I don't need to be any more insane than I already am."

"You're not insane."

"I made a deal with a demon."

"Alright, I'll admit that you're eccentric and curious. But you're nowhere near _insane_."

Silver gave him an appreciative smile before returning to her search. After a few minutes she grinned and put the iPod down. The car began to play a hip-hop type of beat, and Silver giggled.

"This is perfect for the drive. Let's go!" she exclaimed, pulling out of the parking lot and carefully starting down the road.

"What is this?" Claude asked, listening to the odd lyrics.

"It's the Thrift Shop song. It's just a funny little song a friend showed me online a while back." Silver grinned and sang along with the chorus, earning an amused chuckle from the spider butler.

"I'm gonna pop some tags, only got $20 in my pocket, I-I-I'm hunting, looking for a come-up, this is f*cking awesome!" she sang happily.

Claude rolled his eyes at her, and she nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Come on, don't be a fun thief. Sing, the lyrics are easy enough." she grinned.

"Yeah, no. I don't sing." Claude replied.

"Come on, please?"

Claude groaned and waited for the chorus before complying with her wish, and she laughed triumphantly as he repeated the chorus.

"Aw, you sounded fine." she reassured him happily.

"Thank you." he grunted, earning another smirk.

It only took them fifteen minutes to get to the riverfront, and Silver parked the car quickly and hopped out. Claude got out as well, being careful not to slam the car door. He smiled softly at Silver's excited look as she cast a glance up the street, then out at the ocean, which was visible from the platform known as "the riverfront".

"Where are we going first?" he asked curiously, taking note of the salt he could smell in the air from the ocean.

"There's this really cool shop up here called the "Black Cat Shoppe" that sells all sorts of things, like necklaces, gag items, candles, masks, you name it! I got some cat-paw gloves there once." Silver replied happily.

Claude chuckled.

"I once knew someone who would have loved those." he commented offhandedly.

"They're really comfortable. I went bowling with some friends once and wore them."

"Did your bowling ability get worse?"

"I already suck at bowling, so it didn't really matter. We just had fun naming the bowling balls and throwing them down the lanes."

"...That's a little sadistic, don't you think?"

Silver smirked.

"Says the man who will rip my soul out and eat it." she reminded him, poking him in the chest.

Claude smirked and grabbed her hand.

"Touche, my lady. Now, I believe we have roles to play..." the demon reminded her, and she blushed softly and allowed him to keep a firm grip on her hand as they walked.

They soon found themselves walking through the doors of the Black Cat Shoppe, and Claude would have been surprised at the oddness of the place if he weren't so familiar with his master's peculiar tastes by now. Silver grinned and nearly dragged him behind her, making a beeline to a display of hats and masks. She loved hats; if ever she wasn't wearing her oversized headphones, it was a hat instead. Claude allowed his gaze to wander over the interior of the shop, not paying his master much attention until she tugged on his sleeve.

"Hm?" he grunted, turning to look down at her.

Silver was grinning at him evilly, holding a creepy looking plastic horse mask in her small hands.

"Put it on, Claude." she giggled.

"You must be out of what's left of your mind if you think I'm wearing that." Claude whispered back at her sternly.

The smile that crossed her face made it evident that she wasn't going to give up on this. The demon sighed and took the mask from her.

"Fine, but tomorrow I'm taking you to a mental hospital to get you looked at." he grumbled at her.

"You're supposed to be playing a role, right? Come on, _love_, it'll look really funny on someone as tall as you." Silver giggled at him, delighting in using his own words against him.

Claude grimaced and rolled his eyes before slipping the undesirable mask over his head. Silver immediately burst into a fit of laughter at how ridiculous he looked, and he was quick to remove the mask. Silver's grin of mirth only widened as she noticed the slight tint of embarrassed pink the demon's cheeks were.

"Aw, did I actually embarrass you? Heh, I'm sorry. Come on, love, let's go get something to eat. I promise I won't pick on you for the entire meal." she grinned and walked past him and out of the store.

Claude sighed and hung the mask back up before following her. He chuckled, noticing that she had run over to the riverfront and was leaning slightly over the balcony, staring out at the ocean. He was half tempted to push her into the water for revenge, but decided that it would be too cruel for such a small human to handle. Plus, neither a good boyfriend or butler would do such a thing; and he planned to be both.

**Yes, this chapter was a little sub-par. However, I thought it was funny. The song I reference here is the Thrift Shop song. I don't remember the artist; just look it up on Youtube. As for the cat-paw gloves, I do have them. Remember that I'm writing about mostly true events, just throwing Claude in there and editing things to make it interesting. I am, indeed, just as spastic and random as Silver in this fic. Ooh, Cheesecake! Byes!**

**~Silver**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Claude shot yet another concerned look at his master as she drove, perhaps the hundredth time in the past twenty minutes. It was at least 11:00 an night. After eating at a nice seafood place Silver had been to once before on the riverfront, they had explored more of the shops downtown. Now, they were on their way to the beach, which was a thirty minute drive from the riverfront; and Silver looked exhausted.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive us there?" Claude asked, glad that there was no one else on the road.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I might get you to drive us back, though. And fill the car with gas for my friend, too. Is that okay?" Silver replied softly.

"Yes, of course." Claude nodded.

"Do you have a driver's license?"

Claude chuckled.

"Ah, no." he replied with a small smile.

"Then don't get us pulled over." Silver chuckled.

"I will do my best. Are we almost at the beach?"

"Yeah. If you look out the window to your right, you can see glimpses of it between beach houses. One of my professors lives out here, in a teal-colored house. I went there once when we cleaned up the beach at the beginning of the year. It's a really nice place." Silver said happily.

"Yeah, I bet it is. It takes money to buy a three-story beach house."

Silver chuckled at him and nodded, and they fell silent. Within a few minutes, Silver found a parking lot close to the end of the stretch of beach line and parked carefully. She grinned and turned the car off, getting out and grabbing a bag she had picked up from one of the stores they had visited. Claude smiled and followed her out to the beach, smirking as his master stumbled a bit over piles of sand.

The beach was completely deserted, and the sliver of a moon above cast an eerie glow over the gently rolling gray water. Silver sighed happily, breathing in the scent of salt and sand, before adjusting her eye patch and stumbling down closer to the water. Claude followed, his hands stuffed into his pockets and his golden eyes lighting up at the calm smile on Silver's face. Seeing her so completely at home made him...happy, an emotion he still had to adjust to.

"Let's see what we can find washed up here, Claude." Silver called back at him, having to talk loudly over the wind.

"Yes, love. We're looking for shells and sharks teeth, right?" the demon asked, jogging to her side.

"Yeah. I've never found a shark's tooth on the beach before. My Grandfather used to live in Savannah, Georgia, really close to the beach. Before he died, he'd send me shells and sharks teeth and sand dollars that had been bleached white by the sun. I would paint them and send them back to him. Ever since then, I've loved collecting shells and things." Silver said softly.

"That's...really cute." Claude said honestly.

"Yeah, I guess. It's part of how I stay connected to him, since I didn't get to see him for a while when I moved away, up here. I didn't see him for a while before he passed on, so I keep this going for him."

Claude paused and looked down at her in silence for a moment, then sighed and grabbed her hand gently.

"Come on, then. Let's look, before the water washes all of the good ones away." he smirked and started scanning over the ground, his eyes glowing lightly as he looked.

"Yeah, definitely."

The two searched for a good thirty minutes, grinning whenever they stumbled across something. Silver's bag was nearly full when a loud shout from behind them caught their attention. They turned to see a small group of some of Silver's friends from the college running sloppily toward them. Silver chuckled and waved at them, not noticing Claude's glare and impatient sigh.

"Hey, Silver! We didn't know you were gonna be out here. Who's the tall guy in the penguin suit?" one of them asked, giggling at him.

"Ah, yeah, I forgot that you've not met him yet. This is my boyfriend, Claude. Claude, this is my friend Orange. The others are Green, Blue, and Purple. What are you guys up to?" Silver returned her attention to the giggling girl in front of her.

"Oh, we were hanging out at Purple's apartment, and decided that a late night trip to the beach would be fun. What about you two?"

"We thought that a trip to the beach would be a good end to a good date."

"Aww, cute! Tell us everything!"

Claude sighed and cleared his throat, and the group turned to look up at him.

"While you guys catch up, I'm interested in looking under the pier over there for shells. I'll be right back." he said somewhat coolly, giving the group that had interrupted them a quick glare.

Silver shivered at his impatient look.

"Okay, just be careful. I've heard that the tide is pretty wild near the pier." she warned carefully.

Claude nodded curtly and walked across the sand quickly. He wasn't particularly happy with this evening with his master being interrupted by those four human idiots, and wasn't really sure why it irritated him so much. He sighed and hurried to the pier, and began searching around the wooden poles that sank into the sand. He knew that water would wash things up around there that people would be nervous to retrieve because of the tide. If there was going to be anything good on the beach, it was going to be here. A few moments searching brought him to his desired result.

Tucked up against one of the poles was a rather large conch shell, shining dully in the moon's thin light. It was a soft pinkish-gray color, and looked as if it had been sitting there for a while. Claude smirked victoriously and scooped it up, putting it to his ear and listening to the rushing sound that came from within. Satisfied that it was empty, he carried it back to where Silver was still talking to her friends and poked her gently on the shoulder.

"Look at what I found next to the pier, love." he said, holding the shell out to her.

Silver and her friends gasped, and Silver took the large shell carefully.

"Wow, Claude! Good find! I've only ever seen conch shells this big in stores. My Grandfather would be so jealous of us right now." she giggled, turning it over in her hands and looking over it carefully.

"Indeed. It's late, and is getting rather chilly out. Shall we return to the school?" Claude asked, completely ignoring the looks on Silver's friend's faces.

"Ah, yeah, good idea. We'll see you guys later, okay?" Silver smiled at her friends.

"Yeah, see you later. Nice to meet you, Claude." Orange replied, and th others agreed quickly.

"Likewise."

Claude led Silver back to the car they had borrowed, and the young woman looked at him nervously when he climbed into the driver's side of the car.

"You know how to drive, right?" she asked, getting in on the other side.

"Yes, don't worry. I'll get us back safe and sound, and fill up the tank on the way. Just relax." the demon replied calmly.

Silver complied, and within a few minutes of them leaving the beach she was asleep, leaning against the door with her head pressed against the window. Claude sighed at how uncomfortable she looked in that position, but didn't bother trying to wake her. She would just mumbled something at him and go back to sleep. He chuckled quietly to himself.

"My, you have put me in quite the position, Silver. I've only broken a contract once, out of blind hunger. To break a second one would be madness. Yet...perhaps I am mad, after all of these years. All I can know for certain is that I will _not _take your soul after we finish your goal. I have goals as well, ones that must leave you alive."

**Ooh, what's going on? Spider butler is up to something! What could be so important of a goal to break contract for? We shall see! Thanks for the continued support, Silverlings! Allons-y!**

**~Silver**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Silver sighed and stared down the long stretch of concrete between herself and her goal. It would take at least twenty minutes to walk all the way down there, and it was _cold_. She hated being cold. It was one of the most uncomfortable feelings in the world. She sighed again.

A group of her friends had invited her and Claude to meet them at the movie theater on campus to see "Hotel Transylvania" at 10:00 that night. They had agreed to meet at the theater at 9:30, but the theater was on the other end of campus from Silver's dorm. Now they stood at the top of the long path that would take them to the theater, called Chancellor's Walk.

"Come on, then. The sooner we get moving, the sooner we get inside. It's too damn cold out here." Silver complained, starting down the path.

"Are you sure you want to go? We'll have to walk back at about midnight, and it's bound to be even colder." Claude warned, sticking close by her side and taking her hand.

"Yeah, I've been wanting to see this movie for a while. I missed it when it came out in theaters, so I'm glad we finally got it here. It's supposed to be pretty cute." Silver replied, shivering.

Claude immediately shrugged off his tail coat and slipped it over Silver's shoulders. The young woman blushed softly and gave him a concerned look.

"Won't you be cold?" she asked curiously.

"No, I'll be fine. The weather does not bother me." Claude answered with a reassuring smile.

Silver grinned and slipped her arms into the large coat's sleeves, giggling at how big it was on her. The tails only hovered a foot off the ground when she wore it. She was pretty short, especially compared to the tall demon. Claude smirked as his master shook her arms to get her hands through the sleeves. He took her hand again, frowning slightly at how cold she still was.

"Are you certain that this film is worth you possibly getting sick?" he asked.

"Stop being a worry wart, Claude. Come on!" Silver smirked and slipped her headphones onto her ears, turning on her music and nodding her head to the beat.

"What are you listening to?" Claude asked, hearing and not recognizing the music.

"Ah. Well, it's a song from the "My Little Pony" fandom that I like. It's got a nice beat." she replied happily, blushing slightly.

Claude smirked.

"Do you know the words?"

"I'm not a fan of puppeteers, but I've a nagging fear, that someone else is pulling on the strings. Something terrible is going down, through the entire town, causing anarchy in all it brings. I can't sit idly, no I can't move at all. I curse the name, the one behind it all." Silver sang back at him, taking his question as a challenge.

"Well, what's the name of this person causing such chaos? Sounds like a fun guy." Claude asked playfully.

"You were close with "chaos". His name's Discord. Point is, I like the song. It's got a good beat."

Claude smirked and nodded at her, looking around at the buildings they were slowly passing. The college campus was somewhat creepy at night. Most of the lights in the massive buildings were turned off, leaving the only source of light the flickering street lamps in the middle of Chancellor's Walk. There was an almost eerie air as the "couple" walked down the path, and Claude marveled that Silver had once walked down here alone on her way to meet friends. He certainly would never allow that to happen again. It would be too easy for her to get snatched up if there was no one there to stop it.

"Are you alright, Claude?"

Claude smiled and looked down at his master. She looked back at him with a curious, somewhat worried expression. It was odd, he realized; he couldn't pinpoint the exact date that she had started to grow so close to him. He was still trying to figure out why he refused to eat the girl's soul, and now she was treating him as if...their act was more than an act? Now _that _was a curious notion. He would think about it later.

"Yes, I am fine. I believe we're almost at the theater?" he changed the subject quickly.

"Yeah, we just need to cross this bridge over the little pond that was built here a few years ago and it'll be just down the little side path. There are some cool things in the pond." Silver replied happily.

"What, fish?" Claude teased.

Silver rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, yes, there are fish. There are a couple of really big ones, too. Like two or three feet long. And there are turtles, too. I even saw a heron standing nearby before it flew off, once. I used to come out here with a couple pieces of bread and feed the turtles." she mused quietly.

"When it warms up, we can do that." Claude suggested, leading her quickly over the bridge and toward the building where the movie theater was.

Silver smiled and took his arm.

"Yeah, I would like that. And so would the turtles. They've been spoiled." she smirked and quickly pushed the door of the building open.

The theater was almost empty when they entered and took their seats, waiting for the rest of the group to show up. Silver looked around, somewhat concerned.

"Where is everyone?" she asked softly.

"I imagine that most people are going to stay home, where they're warm." Claude replied just as quietly.

"I guess we're just crazy, then."

"_You're _crazy. I came here as part of the contract."

Silver gave him a knowing look and smiled.

"I think we've both realized there's more to it than that." she said gently.

Claude's eyes went wide, and he struggled to keep his voice even.

"Wh-what?" he asked quickly.

Before Silver could respond, they were greeted by a large group of Silver's friends. Claude sighed as Silver became engrossed in talking with them. He thought quickly about what she had said, his eyebrows furrowed. He didn't notice the change in the lighting of the theater until it was nearly dark. He quickly shook off his confusion and turned his attention to the screen. There was plenty of time to think about all of that...mess...later. For now, he decided it was best to relax and attempt to enjoy the movie.

Silver smiled over at him and took his hand, earning smiles from her friends. Claude barely managed to shake the strange feeling that settle into him. They had held hands like this several times as part of their act, but this was somehow different. It felt somewhat closer.

-Chalk that up to another thing to ponder later- Claude thought to himself before locking his attention on the screen.

**Little bit of drabble there. Nothing all that exciting has happened to me in a while. Forgive this...mushy crap. Unless you like it. Then you're welcome! I guess that's what happens when you listen to Disney music while you write. Allons-y!**

**~Silver**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Silver grinned happily up at her demon butler, her arms wrapped around a large paper bag. Claude smirked back at his overexcited master and followed her as she trotted down Chancellor's Walk. It was a few days after they had seen the movie at the campus theater, and it was a considerably warmer night than then. Silver had decided to go to the grocery store to buy different foods for the turtles at the pond. She wanted to feed them tonight, before it got cold again. The weather here was almost as unpredictable as she was.

"So, remind me of all of the things you spent money on for simple reptiles?" Claude teased her.

"Grape tomatoes, pine apple slices, bread, dog food, apple slices, and cucumbers." Silver replied happily.

"Dog food?"

"Yeah. I was feeding them one day with one of my friends and an elderly man told us turtles like dog food. So I'm gonna try it."

"I'm pretty sure, being spoiled wild animals that have been psychologically conditioned to swim up when people show up to be fed, that they'll be happy with anything you feed them." Claude said matter of factually.

"Aww, don't ruin the magic like that! Let's just have a nice night-time stroll and feed the turtles. It'll be a date. Just look at the moon. It's full, and that yellow glow around it is lovely. We don't see it much here, because we're next to the ocean and it's usually too cloudy." Silver replied, smiling happily up at the moon.

Claude's gaze softened a bit as he looked up at the moon.

"You're rather fond of the moon, aren't you?" he asked softly.

"Yeah. The Sun is so bright and flashy, it's hard to look at. The moon's light is soft and gentle. I like that about it." Silver muttered gently before grinning and grabbing Claude's hand happily.

Claude smirked down at her. Ever since the movie, the two had become closer. Their couple act was becoming less of an act and more of a fact with every passing day. Both were completely aware of it, but neither felt like it needed to be brought up. They were both completely okay with whatever this odd relationship brought them. Claude smiled contently and led his master to the swinging chair next to the pond. They sat down and looked out over the small pond with content smiles.

"So, what are we gonna feed them first?" Claude asked curiously, giving her the closest thing an inexperienced demon could get to a tender look.

"The bread. It'll lure them in. I don't wanna waste any of the good stuff on just little fish. I wonder if the big ones will show up?" Silver replied, pulling a loaf of bread from the paper bag.

Silver opened the bread and handed a couple of pieces to the spider demon, then started breaking her own piece into chunks and tossing it into the pond. Claude smiled and began mimicking her, and both grinned as the pieces vanished quickly. Little fish were eagerly darting up to snatch the bread from the bread from the surface water. Silver giggled and pointed out to the other end of the pond, where ripples were beginning to move their way.

"That's them. Last time I counted there were 17 turtles, not counting the two gigantic snapping turtles I've seen a couple of times. There's this cute little one, too! He's always getting pushed around by the others." she whispered, not wanting to scare them away.

"That's a shame." Claude chuckled.

"He'll be alright. We've got plenty of food for all of them."

"We're going to stuff them if we feed all of this to them, Silver."

"I know, we'll save most of the bread. I bought small containers of the other things."

Silver reached into the bag and brought out the other things she had bought, opening all of the containers and putting them in her lap.

"Alright, love. Let's give these poor creatures a nice, balanced meal!" she giggled.

"Heh. These creatures are more fortunate than most." Claude replied.

The two spent a good hour laughing as they watched the swarm of hungry turtles fight over chunks of food. Claude was happy to see his master enjoying herself to such an extent. She had been getting loaded down with work lately from her classes, and was not enjoying it. She was up late each night, mostly because after doing school work she insisted on writing. He had tried to get her to go to bed earlier, but she stubbornly refused. That was one of the things he...found endearing...about her. She was so stubborn, it was somewhat cute, though infuriating when it affected her health.

After a little while they ran out of everything besides bread, and the turtles seemed disappointed. Claude chuckled as they refused to go after the floating lumps, leaving them for the fish and swimming away. Silver pouted playfully as they left.

"That's rude. They really _are _spoiled if they won't eat bread anymore." she complained slightly.

"Please don't pout like that." Claude teased.

"Why not?"

"It's adorable. You look like a little puffer fish."

Silver laughed loudly, leaning against him.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Thanks, Claude. A puffer fish?" she giggled at him.

"Hey, puffer fish are cute when they're little. They look like they're smiling." the demon gave a cheesy smile, and Silver chuckled at him and sighed.

"You're an odd one, Claude. I'm glad you're the demon that responded to me and not someone else." she said softly, blushing softly.

Claude smiled sincerely and surprised her by gently kissing the top of her head.

"Likewise, my lady."

Silver smiled and didn't respond, deciding it was best to simply sit and enjoy her demon's presence. Claude smirked as, about half an hour later, he discovered that she had nodded off to sleep in the quiet comfort of the night, using his shoulder as a pillow. The demon chuckled and scooped her up, deciding to take a back route to her dorm so no one would ask awkward questions.

**Disney music + writing this fic = cute, mushy romance. Approve or no?**

**~Silver **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Are you nervous, Claude?"

The demon glanced over at his master and smiled, taking her hand.

"Not really, no. I'm very eager to see how this goes." he replied calmly.

The two were seated side-by-side on a Greyhound bus that had been driving for a good nine hours. Silver was on a short break from school, and had decided to take a bus home and visit her family. Which meant that Claude was going with her. Her family was rather eager to meet their daughter's new "boyfriend", and had told her that they would have a room prepared for them. Silver had been shocked that her parents were going to allow them to share a room, but didn't fuss over it. In a way they did already, even if Claude spent his nights as a spider under Silver's desk.

"Are you nervous?" Claude asked, shaking Silver from her thoughts.

"Yeah, a little bit. It's pretty important to me for my family to like you, since you'll be following me whenever I visit them." Silver said with a tiny smile.

"Who are you worried about the most?"

"Oh, I don't know. It'll be fairly easy for you to get along with my father and step-mother. My mom will probably like you as well. She's very eccentric, like an older version of me."

Claude sighed and rolled his eyes playfully.

"Oh no, _two _Silver's. Isn't one enough? Why do I have to put up with two?" he complained with a smile.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to make this contract. You offered." Silver teased, poking him in the side.

"Yes, and I'm glad that I did. You accepted."

"And I'm glad that I did, too. Ugh, I hope we get to the station soon. I'm tired, and this bus is uncomfortable."

Claude smirked and looked around at the dark bus. Most of the other passengers were asleep. Silver had slept a bit earlier, but was repeatedly woken up by the annoying cries of a young child at the front of the bus. She finally gave up on sleep after the fourth time being woken up, and settled on playing hangman with Claude. She eventually got frustrated when Claude used large, awkwardly-spelled words to make her lose. Now she was staring out the window as lights passed by, her tiny hand in the demon's larger one.

It had taken a good bit of thought to figure out how to explain Claude to her parents. It wasn't easy to make up a story for an incredibly handsome man who wore a Victorian-era butler's outfit and spoke as politely as if he were addressing a noble most of the time. Eventually they decided that Claude would pose as a 22-year old Psychology major whom Silver had met in one of her college classes. He was a Sophomore, and had started college late because he had moved to America from England to escape his family. He wore the butler uniform as a kind of tribute to his former country.

The story was that Silver and Claude had become friends quickly, and had soon fallen madly in love with one another. Silver's parents had been surprised, and were extremely curious to meet the young man. Silver was just glad they had bought her story. The young woman smiled in relief when their bus finally pulled into the station.

"Ah, it's about time! I'm so sick of Greyhound!" Silver complained, stretching.

"We'll have to ride it on the way back, too, you know." Claude said with a small smile.

"Well, maybe I'll be able to sleep this time. I can use your shoulder as a pillow and just sleep for hours."

"I'd get bored."

"You should be used to that by now, considering you sit under my desk while I sleep back at the college."

"Would you rather I sleep with you?"

"Personally, I wouldn't really care. Pink would have a fit, though. She's still terrified of you."

Claude smirked happily.

"And I am very pleased to know that." he said victoriously.

Silver rolled her eyes and led the demon off of the bus, and they quickly got their bags out of the baggage compartment and walked to the parking lot. Silver scanned the line of cars that were parked there, finally grinning when she spotted a familiar blue SUV. She smiled and ran to it, grinning wider when her father stepped out of the driver's side carrying two small dogs on leashes. The animals, a Shih-Tzu and a Dwarf Shih-Tzu, went berserk when they saw her, barking and wagging their tails happily. Claude watched with a grin as his master greeted them, tears in her eyes as she scooped up the smaller dog, her dog Simba.

"Oh, I've missed you! Yes, Mommy's missed you! Yes she has! Oh, good boy!" Silver giggled happily as the dog squirmed in her arms.

"And he's missed you. He looks for you every morning, and gets disappointed when you're not there." Silver's father said softly.

"Oh, don't tell me that, you'll make me upset! Claude and I will just have to sneak him into one of our dorms!"

Silver's father looked up at Claude and looked him over before offering a friendly smile, which the demon quickly returned.

"So you're the Claude I've heard so much about! Claude Faustus, right?" he asked.

Claude walked up to him and shook his hand with a smile.

"Yes, sir. I'm Claude Faustus. It's a pleasure to meet you." he said respectfully, and Silver's father beamed at him.

"Silver was right, you're a polite one! Well, everyone else will be glad to hear that! We're gonna have a family dinner tomorrow afternoon so everyone can visit. Tonight we thought you two would want to go right to bed when we got home. Alright, let's get this stuff into the car." Silver's father gestured at their bags.

"Please, allow me to get these. Silver told me that you had back surgery a few years ago. I don't want you to hurt your back, so I'll take care of this." Claude said quickly, pulling the bags to the back of the car.

"Thank you. We'll put the dogs back in their kennel, then hit the road. It's only a thirty minute drive home."

"Thank you, sir. That sounds excellent."

Silver grinned happily at the sight of her father and Claude getting along so well. She could only hope things went as well with the rest of the family.

**Now that would be a real concern! Meet the family! I'm not entirely sure how my family would react to Claude. Terror, probably. **

**~Silver **


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Silver smirked as she watched Claude walking around, interacting with her family members. She took a sip of the coffee she had brewed for herself as she watched her two teenage cousins chatting with him, blushing and giggling as he responded to them. Claude had made a rather favorable impression on all of the women in her family. Her older sister had asked if he had any friends or siblings she needed to meet, and ever her two young nieces were taken with him. They would run up to him and offer him sweets, their blue eyes sparkling happily as he accepted the candy and stuffed it into the pockets of his tailcoat. The girls were only 5 and 6 years old, so it was adorable to watch them sharing their sweets, which they usually hoarded, with the demon.

Claude smirked as he noticed Silver's eyes on him and walked over to her. The family was gathered in the back yard for a family get-together. Silver's father and older brother were at the grill making burgers and hotdogs while everyone else relaxed.

"You seem really popular with the ladies." Silver remarked, gesturing at Claude's pockets.

The demon chuckled and pulled a piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapping it and popping it into his mouth.

"I can't help that I'm so charming. Your father, step-father, and brothers seem to find me agreeable as well." he said with a smile.

"Your powers of charm work on men as well. I had best be careful I don't lose you to anyone." Silver teased.

"Don't worry, love. I am yours and yours alone."

A loud squeal of approval interrupted them before Silver could reply, and they turned to see Silver's younger sister grinning and giving them a thumbs-up before wandering off to find their cousins. Silver chuckled and took Claude's hand, leading him to the swinging chair that rested in the back corner of the yard. They sat down and observed the events going on with the rest of the family in quiet peace.

"I think this mission was a success." Silver said after a few minutes.

"Judging by how many calories of candy I have in my pockets right now, I agree." Claude replied with a chuckle.

"Did they give you any chocolate?"

"Now, now, my lady. You shouldn't eat dessert before lunch. You'll spoil your appetite." Claude teased, popping another piece of candy into his mouth.

"Then why are you eating, hypocrite?" Silver shot at him playfully.

"Because it's my candy, so I can. Besides, human food does nothing for me, so it doesn't really matter what I eat."

Silver was about to give another cheeky reply, probably a diabetes joke of some sort, when her young nieces ran up to them. They both held several pieces of candy in their small hands, and Silver could only wonder who they were stealing all of this from. They shyly held the sweets out to Claude, who grinned and took them.

"Thank you, little ones. That's very nice of you." he said with a smile as their mother, Silver's older sister, approached.

Silver's sister smiled at them and shooed the children away with a warning to leave the candy alone before giving Claude a sly smile.

"It's nice to see that you're so naturally fatherly, Claude. That's good for when you and Silver have your own kids." she said with a wink.

Silver's face went a deep shade of red, and Claude nearly choked on the piece of candy he had been eating.

"Ah, erm...heh, thank you. That's very kind of you." Claude replied, clearly struggling to suppress his embarrassment.

"Sure thing. Hang on to this one, sis. He'll be "fun"." Silver's sister winked again and walked away, leaving an awkward silence in her wake.

After a moment, Claude chuckled awkwardly and looked over at his master.

"I've never thought to ask you, my lady, but...what _is _your opinion of children?" he asked carefully.

"I don't really know...I'm not the motherly type. I'm not very patient, and that's important. It's not like I'm going to live long enough for it to matter anyway." Silver waved her hand dismissively, but it was clear that the question flustered her.

"You wanted to be a psychologist as well a an author, right? You would need a PhD for that...that's at least 11 more years of college. You would be done at age 28." Claude said slowly.

"Yeah, so?"

"I propose an amendment to the contract. I will help you reach that goal as well."

Silver blinked at him, her eyes going wide.

"Why? You would delay eating my soul 11 years!" she exclaimed.

Claude sighed and took off his glasses to polish them with his sleeve, sliding them back onto his nose.

"If I could break this contract, I would do it. Not to leave you, but to protect you. I do not want to end the life of the person who has made such a dramatic change in me. I will make this amendment, and in the time it gives us I will find a way to save you." Claude declared with a determined glint in his golden eyes.

"Claude..." Silver smiled at him and hugged him, and he returned the gesture quickly.

"Don't worry, Silver. I won't fail at this. Salt to sugar...day into night...and silver into gold...that's what makes your lover."

**I finally found a good place to shove Claude's awkward little catchphrase. About freaking time! Allons-y!**

**~Silver**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Silver grinned as she tugged at Claude's hand, nearly dragging the chuckling demon behind her. It was the last day before they were to return to her school, and there was a festival going on in the downtown area of the small town where her family mostly lived. She wasn't particularly fond of the festival in itself, but was very curious to see how Claude would react to it. It was apparently an extremely country-hick kind of celebration.

Once they reached the downtown area, Claude was surprised by how small the festival was. There was a stage set up under a pavilion, with plenty of room for people to dance in front of it. There were a few small tables set up around it, where people were selling greasy-smelling food and flat drinks. There were a few bouncy castles set up for the children, but that was pretty much it. Claude wrinkled his nose at the heavy smell of fat and grease in the air and shot Silver a curious look.

"What is this festival for?" he asked.

"This is the Liver mush festival. It gets smaller every year." Silver replied with a snort; she didn't like the smell, either.

"Liver mush? That sounds...disgusting. Do you like it?"

"No, I hate the stuff. It's gross. I just wanted to bring you here to get away from the house for a little bit. I thought it would be a break from my cousin's flirting. You're running out of places to keep all of the candy the little girls have been showering on you all week, too."

Claude smirked and pulled some candy out of his pocket, eating it happily.

"I seem to have developed quite the sweet tooth." he commented with a satisfied smile.

"As long as you don't get a cavity, it's fine. Taking a demon to the dentist would be quite the experience. With those fangs of yours, the dentist would pee himself." Silver giggled to herself.

"I've never bitten a dentist before, I don't plan to start now."

The two found a place near the edge of the crowd to sit and watch as other people danced to the various country songs warbled out by the tiny in-town band hired to play. Silver quickly grew bored, but she didn't want to leave just yet. She had brought Claude here to show him how country this place could be, and wasn't leaving until a certain event took place. After an hour of poorly-performed country music, a large man wearing baggy overalls waddled onto the stage.

"Alright, y'all, it's time for the best-dressed pig contest! Please wait a minute for all the contestants to git there pigs ready to go." The man declared proudly before walking off stage.

Claude's face went blank, then he turned to Silver for confirmation.

"Did that man just say they were having a best dressed _pig _contest?" he asked, suppressing a chuckle.

Silver grinned at him.

"He sure did." she replied in the thickest accent she could muster.

"As in real pigs, or these people's mothers?"

Silver burst into a fit of hysterical laughter, and Claude smirked victoriously at her.

"Real pigs. Look, there's the first one!" she giggled, pointing as a man led a pig in a green jacket onto the stage.

Five hysterically dressed pigs later, Silver's eyes were clouded with tears of laughter as the winner led her American-flag clad pork chop off of the stage. Claude was laughing as well, shaking his head at these strange humans. He would never understand human amusements. He had thought Silver had odd tastes in what she liked, but pigs in costume? That was simply too much.

"Come on, Claude. They're just gonna play some more music out of the radio now. Let's go to the bakery up the road. They have really good, inexpensive food." Silver said, standing up and dusting herself off.

"Anything but liver mush, right?" Claude replied, joining her and starting up the road.

"_Anything _but liver mush. Stuff looks like cat vomit, and tastes really bad, too. We can pick up something to eat on the way home. I'm getting pretty tired."

Claude nodded in agreement and allowed her to lead him into a quaint little bakery. She chatted with the person at the desk for a few minutes before ordering a couple of pastries and walking out the door. She handed one of the pastries to Claude as they walked, smiling as they passed other people walking past toward the festival. Claude smiled as his master walked happily up the street, humming softly to herself.

When they got to Silver's parent's house, everyone else was already asleep. They walked carefully up to the room that had been prepared for them. Silver gathered her night cloths and walked to the restroom to change, leaving Claude to change in the room. Her parents were going to wake them up early, so Claude couldn't just turn into a spider and wait. He had to at least pretend he was sleeping next to Silver. It wasn't really awkward to them anymore, it was just a little odd.

After a few minutes, Silver returned, stuffing her day clothes into her suitcase with a tired grunt. Claude simply chuckled at her as she collapsed onto the bed next to him, exhausted.

"This tired? All we did was sit and watch other people dance and show off their pigs." he commented.

"This whole visit has been exhausting. I'm definitely sleeping on the Greyhound tomorrow." Silver mumbled at him.

"Get some sleep, then."

Silver smiled and curled up close to him, chuckling a bit when he snaked his arm around her waist.

"What the Hell, Claude?" she asked.

"Shut up and go to sleep." the demon whispered back, ignoring her slight glare.

"Goodnight, then."

Claude smiled; he had expected her to argue a bit more, but was glad that she was listening to him for once.

"Goodnight, Silver."

**Remembered the Liver mush festival and had to write about it. It's one of the most pointless things in my old town. So glad I got away. Ugh. Liver mush. Allons-y!**

**~Silver**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Claude sat lazily on Silver's bed, reading over a book she had purchased upon return to campus and waiting for her to return from class. It was a Wednesday, so she had five classes lined up to attend. He expected her back at around five-thirty. She had left at Nine; needless to say, the demon had gotten quite bored in her absence. One had to be bored to actively read a book about the Irish Potato Famine; bored, or Silver. Being half Irish herself, Silver found their history fascinating.

Claude's line of thought was interrupted by the door swinging open, and he smirked as a tired-looking Silver walked in and tossed her bag to the ground.

"Hello, Claude." she greeted him cheerily, sitting at her desk and turning on her laptop.

"Hello, Silver. How much homework are you going to attempt to finish tonight?" the demon asked with a chuckle.

"Just a paper for my research class. Then we're walking down Chancellor's Walk to Randall Library. We've been invited to a party." Silver grinned at the curious look that crossed the demon's face.

"_We've _been invited to a party?" he asked incredulously.

"Okay, I've been invited. You're my plus-one. You see, a while back I submitted a short story for publication in an on-campus arts journal called "The Second Story". The editor is hosting a party in a classroom upstairs in the library, and I was invited to attend since I submitted a piece. I won't know if it's been published for another two months, but I still want to attend. We get free food, and I might be able to do some volunteer work there." Silver explained while getting things ready to type her paper.

"Sounds good to me. What time is it?"

"It starts at six-thirty and ends at eight-thirty. People will be reading their short stories and poems."

"Are you planning to read yours?"

"Yeah, I'm going to print a copy as soon as I finish this paper. It'll only take a few minutes."

Claude smiled and leaned against the wall next to the bed, returning his focus to the book he had been reading. He had learned by now to leave his young master alone as she worked. He didn't want to distract her any more than his being there already did. As he read over the Irish history book, he was struck by how dramatic and sad it was. There were graphically disgusting descriptions of people dying of dysentery and being forced into cannibalism in some severe cases. How did someone who was as sensitive to such things as Silver not get sick when reading this? She got nauseous simply be hearing someone get sick.

"Silver, how do you hold your stomach when reading this? Even I find dysentery sickening." he growled, snapping the book shut.

Silver looked up at him quickly before returning her attention to her nearly-complete paper.

"It is pretty nasty. That's a sad book. I've read nastier things, though." she said with a shudder.

Claude lifted an eyebrow at her; he wasn't sure he could believe that.

"Really? What could _you _have read that is worse than this?" he asked, waving the book a bit.

Silver sighed and leaned over to the cabinet under the bed where she kept her books and dug around a bit until she had pulled one out. She tossed the book at Claude, who caught it easily and looked it over.

"The Hot Zone? What is this? Porn?" he asked.

Silver snorted and shot him a glare.

"Ah, no, certainly not. It's about a very, very nasty disease called Ebola. Just read the first chapter. I nearly got sick. It describes a case one man had of Ebola after visiting a cave in Africa. Just don't throw up on my bed." she smirked at him and kept typing.

Claude looked at her curiously, then opened the book and started to read. Ten minutes later the demon had snapped the book shut and tossed it across the room with a disgusted grunt. Silver looked up and was surprised to see that he honestly looked as if he would be sick if he could. She chuckled.

"I'm honestly surprised that got to you, a demon." she commented, standing up quickly.

"Yes, well, that's nasty even by demon standards. I've never heard of an illness potent enough to turn a monkey in a bag into a bag of _soup_ in a day." he said with a disgusted groan.

"Ebola is the T-Rex of all viruses, but it's only in Africa, and cases of it are extremely rare. It's only gotten to the US once, and that strain only affected monkeys. If one of the more severe strains, such as Ebola Sudan, or God forbid Ebola Zaire, were to get here...well, it would be a disaster."

"Er, why don't we push it from our minds and go to that party you were talking about?"

Silver giggled softly at him and took his hand, leading him out the door of the residence hall.

"I'm really excited about this. If my short story gets published, it'll be the first thing I have ever published before! That's a huge deal for me!" she said dreamily, and Claude smiled happily at her.

"Then we should hurry up and get there. Here we go!" he quickly scooped her up and threw her onto his back.

Silver yelped and quickly wrapped her arms around Claude's neck, and the demon smirked. He took off running down Chancellor's Walk, ignoring the looks shot at them by curious pedestrians. Silver laughed as he ran, enjoying how fast Claude was able to carry her. It reminded her faintly of riding a roller coaster. It only took them a couple of minutes to get to the classroom at Claude's speed, and Silver grinned widely as she attempted to fix her wind-whipped hair before walking into the room.

"Hee~! That was fun! We have to do that more often!" she giggled breathlessly.

"If you wish." Claude replied with a smirk.

"Alrighty, let's go!"

Claude grinned and took her hand.

"Allons-y!" he nearly shouted in a cheery British accent, and Silver grinned happily at him.

"Claude Faustus is the next Doctor. Head canon accepted." she whispered as they were greeted by the large group of people in the room.

The first thirty minutes of the party passed quickly, with Silver signing up to volunteer with the journal and chatting with some of the other writers. Claude followed her and said very little, preferring to let his very talkative master do the speaking. It was soon time for people to begin sharing their work, and the editor of "The Second Story" went first with a poem about the Welsh countryside. Someone read a short story about insecurity, which was followed by a strange vampire-slaying story that left the room in stunned silence.

"What did that guy threaten to do to the vampire again? It was really creepy..." Silver whispered to Claude somewhat nervously.

"I believe he said he would "knit her a scarf of her own muscle fiber, because the night gets cold with no skin." Where did that demented little line come from?" Claude replied, equally disturbed.

"Right, so who wants to go next? Silver, I believe you brought something?" the editor asked, and everyone turned to look at her.

"You want me to follow _that_?" Silver nearly squeaked, and Claude was surprised by the deep shade of red that her face and neck had turned. Then he remembered; she suffered from stage fright.

"Here, allow me to read it for you." he offered, but she shook her head.

"No, I want to do it."

Silver stood up and walked to the front of the room, pulling a few pieces of paper from her pocket and unfolding them. She looked over the room nervously, and her worried blue-gray eyes fell on Claude. He gave her a reassuring smile, and she returned it and cleared her throat before beginning.

"This is a short story I wrote for the journal. It's called "A Walled Garden." _A-hem_. Nothing grows in my garden..."

**Whew, covered lots of stuff. One, Ebola. I had to read a book about it. If you've not read "The Hot Zone"...don't. It's sick stuff. If you are crazy enough to wanna learn more about Ebola, look it up yourself. Just know that I warned you. Anyway, that party was pretty awesome. Thar vampire story was really creepy, but wonderfully written. Anyway, I hope this story isn't boring you guys! If you're curious about what I wrote for the journal, it's posted with my other fics. "A Walled Garden". Allons-y!**

**~Silver **


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Silver sat back from her laptop and smiled, glancing out the window for perhaps the millionth time that day. It was a Saturday, and she had somehow finished all of her homework earlier than expected. She wasn't bored, however. An idea had taken root in her mind a few days ago, and now that she had time off, she could finally pursue it.

Claude, who had been lounging on Silver's bed reading "The Hot Zone", looked down at her with a somewhat disgusted face. He had decided to finish the book, even though the subject was much less than pleasant. His look changed to one of curiosity once he noticed the grin on Silver's face. He sighed. That was usually the look that preceded some strange idea.

"What is it, Silver?" he asked.

"We're going on an adventure!" Silver replied happily.

Claude smirked and sat up, setting the book aside and getting ready to slide off the bed.

"No, not yet. We have to wait until it's dark outside." Silver cautioned him seriously, and he lifted an eyebrow at her.

"What have you got in mind, exactly?" he asked curiously.

"Well, when I'm visiting my mom back in Georgia, we like to go on "Ghost Tours" and take pictures and stuff like that. Well, Wilmington has a pretty dark history, what with the Civil War and pirates and stuff. I want to poke around town a bit, take pictures and see if we can find something paranormal. It's fun!" Silver grinned excitedly at the demon.

Claude chuckled at her and shook his head.

"Fine, but I doubt we'll have much luck." he said offhandedly.

"Why? They exist, don't they?"

"Oh, yes. They're what happens when, for whatever reason, a Shinigami is unable to collect a soul, and the soul isn't stolen by a hungry demon. The thing is, spirits such as that react in two ways to demons. Fear or hostility."

"Why?" Silver asked curiously.

"Hmm, how to explain. Okay, imagine _this _is a soul." Claude held up a piece of candy.

"In life, the soul is protected by the body it lives in. When the body dies, the soul is usually collected or eaten. Sometimes, however, it escapes. It's extremely vulnerable in this state, because it has no body to protect it. It is a soul. And what do demons do with souls?" Claude smiled and popped the candy into his mouth, shattering it with his teeth in a loud crunch.

"You eat them. I see. So they react just like animals do to predators. They flee, or strike back." Silver reasoned.

"Yes. It could actually be dangerous to go looking for spirits. If one were to strike back at you because I was there..." Claude allowed the sentence to trail off.

"Ah, we'll be fine! I still wanna go!" Silver said stubbornly, and the demon sighed in frustration.

"Fine, but when you end up possessed by some Civil War soldier or money-hungry pirate, don't come asking for my help." he said jokingly.

"I won't need to. You'd do whatever it took to help me regardless of if I asked or not." Silver replied with a smirk.

"Indeed I would. Come on, let's go ahead and go downtown so I can find where things might be before night falls."

Silver nodded in agreement and followed him outside, where she climbed onto his back and held on for dear life as he took off. She laughed happily as the demon ran, and it wasn't long until they were calmly walking down the streets of downtown Wilmington.

"Alright, here's the plan. We're gonna walk around and see if you sense anything spooky, so we can return to those places later. Then we'll grab a bite to eat before starting our investigation! Doesn't it sound like fun?" Silver asked excitedly.

"Yes, protecting you from terrified spirits sounds like a blast. By the way, you surely know that I am...quite hungry. If something tries anything, do I have your permission to, heh...enjoy some seafood?" Claude asked honestly.

Silver was silent for a few minutes as she thought it over, then she sighed.

"_Only _if something gets hostile, got it?" she said sternly, and Claude placed his hand over his heart.

"Yes, my lady." he said with a smirk.

"Alright, let's get going, then! There are a lot of places I'm curious about."

"I'm just grateful you don't want to canvas the entire city at this point."

"Nah, there probably wouldn't be anything in the newer, residential areas. If I'm right, ghosts are usually in older, historic areas. Right?"

Claude shrugged.

"Usually, but not always."

They passed the next few hours walking up and down the streets of historic downtown, taking note of any place that Claude pointed out. By the time they found themselves at one of the seafood restaurants near the riverfront, they had a respectable list of places.

"Looks like we need to narrow our list down some." Silver said, looking over it.

"We can pick and choose places after you eat. Come on." Claude ushered her into the restaurant, following her.

One step inside, however, and the demon froze. His brow furrowed a bit, then a shudder ran down his spine. Silver watched him curiously, her eyes going wide at his strong reaction to the place.

"What's wrong, Claude?" she asked quietly.

"There's something here. Something that does _not _seem happy to have me here." Claude looked around, pulling aside a waitress who had been passing by.

"Excuse me for my rudeness, ma'am, but I have a question about this establishment. Have there been any reports of this building or the nearby area being haunted?" he asked as calmly as he could.

"Oh, yeah. Loads. One of Wilmington's most famous ghosts is said to haunt this place." the woman replied cheerily.

Claude gave her a surprised look; he hadn't expected an answer so readily.

"Really? Can you tell me about it?" he asked, Silver close at his side and listening curiously.

"Sure. It's the spirit of a woman who owned a pub in this very building back when there were still problems with pirates here. She was a really burly woman, a monster of a woman in all honesty. Her nickname was Gallus Meg, because if you messed with the girls that frequented the pub, you'd be lucky to leave alive. Or with both ears-she'd bite one off as a trophy. She was like a gallows, thus "Gallus Meg" became her title. She was murdered. It took a lot of people to do it. She's still here, protecting women. We've had several men run screaming from the place because they've accidentally stumbled into the woman's restroom, only to see a burly woman going toward them with her hands set to strangle." the waitress recited as if she told the story often.

Silver's eyes lit up happily at the tale; Claude went slightly pale and sighed.

"Interesting, thank you." he thanked the waitress, and he and Silver took their seats.

"You weren't kidding, Silver. This place is crawling with spirits. It's an all-you-can-eat buffet of the lost and abandoned." the demon commented softly, hoping that this "Gallus Meg" wasn't listening in.

Silver sensed his unease and smirked, opening her menu to hide her amused expression as she spoke.

"Just don't take a detour into the woman's restroom, Claude. I'd hate to see Gallus Meg string you up by your neck." she chuckled.

"I would worry less about me and more about what you're going to eat. Meg isn't going to be getting her hands on my throat any time soon."

"Good, because we are _definitely _coming back here tonight."

**Gallus Meg is a rather famous spirit here in Wilmington. Yeah, I believe in some paranormal stuff. I've gotten too many unusual photos on my old camera (which, sadly, was stolen at my senior prom) to discount it to nature. Anyway, I wonder how this little excursion is going to go? Read on to find out! Allons-y!**

**~Silver **


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Claude sighed and shifted his weight onto his other foot once again, keeping a sharp eye out as Silver walked around the admittedly creepy stable, snapping photos with her camera. They had spent the majority of the night wandering the dark streets of the city, and were now at a house that had once been owned by a wealthy gentleman who had moved there from Europe. He had been murdered one night and never returned home. However, the horse he loved to ride had returned to its stable the night he disappeared. Of course, the grounds were completely abandoned now. Rumor had it that sometimes you could hear the sounds of horses hooves hitting brick around in the area, but everything seemed calm at the moment.

"Do you think we'll find anything here, Claude?" Silver called back at him.

Claude sighed and shook his head.

"No, this one's being just as skittish as the others." he replied in a somewhat bored monotone; they hadn't had any luck so far. Everything was too scared of the demon to do anything but hide.

"Looks like we'll have to head back to the restaurant if we want to get anything good. I doubt Gallus Meg will be scared of you." Silver commented with a small smirk.

"From what I could sense, she was more angry that fearful when we were eating. She is a spirit that protects women. Seeing you with such a dangerous predator must have irked her. I suggest we don't go back." Claude said sternly.

"Don't tell me you're worried?" Silver teased.

"Only that the people of Wilmington will be upset to lose one of its favorite ghosts." Claude retorted darkly, and it was clear that he wasn't kidding; something about Gallus Meg bothered him.

"Alright, let's go walk around the outside of the building a little. We won't spend a long time there. Then we can go home."

Claude nodded shortly and allowed Silver to lead the way back to the restaurant. They began to walk around the exterior of the building, ending up at a long, dark alley behind it. Silver grinned widely as she realized where they were.

"Ah, I understand now. This is Pleasure Alley." she said happily.

"What?" Claude asked curiously, finding nothing at all pleasurable about the creepy place.

"Back when pirates still frequented the bay, this alley was lined with bars and brothels. Gallus Meg's place was both. The bar was on the first floor, where the restaurant is. The prostitutes were upstairs. They would call out the windows at passing sailors, trying to get business. Meg was very protective of "her girls", and would mercilessly attack anyone who did anything they didn't want done. I've heard the story often enough. It would be interesting to meet such an intriguing woman." Silver said with a small, faraway smile.

"Then turn around, Silver, and say hello." Claude said stiffly, his eyes locked on something over her shoulder.

Silver spun on her heels, eyes wide and searching. At first, she didn't see anything. Then, she noticed a strange orb of light hovering several feet away from them, a few feet off of the ground. They stood in silence as the orb floated there, and Silver got the distinct impression that they were being scrutinized.

"Claude, what is it, eh, she...doing...?" Silver asked, suddenly finding herself less brave than she had previously thought.

"She's deciding what to do." Claude spoke stiffly, standing firmly in front of her and taking a protective stance.

The orb hovered in silence for a moment more, then slowly began to change shape. The pair soon found themselves staring at a tall, boorish looking monster of a woman. Silver thought her heart would stop with fear, and she clung to the back of Claude's coat tightly. The demon noticed, and anger bubbled in his stomach. His eyes changed from gold to a glowing pinkish-red, his pupils turning to slits.

"I suggest you leave _now_, wench. You know full well what I am, and I don't appreciate you scaring Silver like this." he growled, bristling.

The woman glared at him and wordlessly seemed to communicate with the demon, for he growled again at her.

"We both know how that would turn out, but you're free to try it. I've been getting very hungry." he hissed at her, taunting.

Gallus Meg opened her mouth in a harsh scowl and seemed to charge at them, her meaty arms up and fingers curled, reaching for Claude's neck. The demon snarled, startling Silver into letting go of him, and his eyes changed again into a strange, bright purple. Almost as quickly as Meg had begun her awkward, shadowy assault, she had vanished. Claude stood where she had been, a small glowing orb of harsh white light floating mere centimeters above the palm of his hand. Silver walked slowly toward him, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Are you alright, love?" Claude asked quietly, his eyes gold once again.

"Yeah, I just got scared, that's all. I'm fine now. Claude...is that...?" Silver started slowly.

"Gallus Meg's soul. Every existence has to meet an end at some point. Meg here has been spending hers protecting women, and made the mistake of trying to help one who is already being protected by one...who will never allow the one he protects to be harmed." Claude spoke lowly, as if unsure of how to express his meaning clearly.

Silver smiled understandingly and nodded at him.

"Are you going to eat her soul?" she asked.

"Yes. I must. After the attack I used to stop her, she would float around without consciousness forever if I did not. That would be a terrible curse."

Silver watched as the spider demon lifted the soul and looked it over, carefully inspecting it with a serious look. After a minute of this, he finally popped the glowing light into his mouth and swallowed it greedily, his eyes flashing red in satisfaction as he ate the soul.

"Not as good as your soul would be...not close at all, in fact. It had a tough texture to it. But it works. It was such an old soul." Claude chuckled and smiled at Silver, and she half expected to see scraps of light stuck in his teeth.

Seeing nothing of the sort, Silver chuckled and yawned; she was exhausted, and this experience had nearly worn her out. Claude smirked and lifted her onto his back, walking calmly out of Pleasure Alley and starting up the road.

"I think you've had enough adventure for an evening." he said calmly.

"Yeah, but we're doing this again sometime." Silver mumbled.

Claude sighed and shook his head. Stubborn, as always.

"I suppose there isn't a scared-strait program that will work on you, is there?" he asked softly.

"Nope."

The demon sighed and rolled his eyes, falling silent so she could sleep. He could attempt, and fail, to talk sense to her later.

**Okay, no, I've never seen Gallus Meg. Sure as Hell want to, though. I love paranormal stuff! Woo! Allons-y!**

**~Silver**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 17**

**Happy Valentine's Day, Silverlings! I thought you might want a Valentine's chapter, considering this is a romance and all of that. The people in the room above mine seem to be having a good night (ugh). Personally, my Valentine's was uneventful, but I hold the pen in this little fic, so I make the rules! Muahahahaha! Here we go! Allons-y~!**

It was the middle of the night when Claude snuck outside, crawling in his spider form through a crack in Silver's window. This was the first time he had left without Silver. But he was sure she would be fine for a few hours with him gone. She was asleep, so hopefully she wouldn't find some way to get into trouble with him gone. Then again, it _was _Silver...

The demon sighed and made his way to the side of the building before changing into his usual human form. He had things to attend to tonight. It was Valentine's Day. He understood the holiday pretty well, even though demons didn't usually celebrate it; in fact, they _never _celebrated it. A day dedicated to love was much too...soft and cute for a creature as dark and cruel as a demon to take interest in. Yet here he was, hacked credit-card in his pocket and a determined glint in his eyes.

Claude had a plan for Silver's Valentine's Day. She wasn't particularly excited about the holiday; it had never been one of her favorites. She had only celebrated it a couple of times, with her previous boyfriend, and it hadn't been a big deal. Claude smirked at the thought. This year, it was going to be a big deal. The demon planned to make it a VERY big deal indeed.

Claude smirked wider and walked calmly off campus, his plans running through his mind. It took him a couple of hours to complete his errands and find safe places to stash the stuff he had purchased in safe places on campus. Luckily, he returned to his space in Silver's desk a good three hours before her screaming alarm clock shattered her from sleep. She groaned and turned off the alarm with the same grumpy growl she gave every time she woke up. Since it was a Thursday, Silver's room mate was already gone. Her classes started earlier than Silver's that day.

"Morning, Claude." the sleepy young woman groaned, sitting up and blinking in a daze at the alarm clock.

"Good morning. Happy Valentine's Day." Claude replied, appearing in his human form at the foot of Silver's bed.

"Oh, that's today, isn't it? Yeah, Happy Valentine's Day."

Claude sighed at her response; he wasn't at all surprised that she had forgotten today was a holiday. Being the hard worker she was, she had been overworking herself recently to get things done. She was so stressed out that it wasn't surprising that she would forget today. That was just another reason to make this day special for her.

"Got any plans for today?" he asked her with a sly smile.

"Yeah, aside from my Psychology test. I've got a date with my bed tonight. Don't tell anyone, but we're _totally _gonna sleep together." Silver joked.

"Oh, my. How scandalous." Claude gasped and shook his head in pretend shame.

"My, and I thought you were innocent. Your sexual exploits astound me."

Silver burst into a fit of laughter and shook her head.

"Sexual exploits? Seriously? Claude, there are preteens out there in this pathetic world with more knowledge of such things than me. Heh! I'm gonna go shower. Heh heh. _Sexual exploits._ Pffft." Silver walked out of the room giggling.

Claude smirked as she left, satisfied that his plans were going to go well. It usually took Silver quite a while to shower (she got distracted thinking and would waste time simply avoiding stepping into the cold), so he had plenty of time to execute phase one of his devious scheme.

When Silver walked back into her room, the place was barely recognizable. Her bed was covered in a thick layer of assorted flowers, atop which rested a massive, exquisitely decorated cake. The head of the bed was blanketed with various stuffed animals of different colors and sizes, as well as random bit of wrapped candies and chocolates. There were a few small bouquets of flowers all arranged in a circle around a massive glass vase full (nearly overflowing, honestly) with vibrant red and deep black roses. Leaning against the wall was a massive poster, and Silver stared at it in awe.

It was a massive, hand-drawn Valentine. It depicted Claude dressed in the attire of the tenth Doctor (her favorite from the Dr. Who series), leaning against the TARDIS and grinning. The door of the TARDIS was slightly ajar, revealing the golden interior. Silver, dressed in a pair of jeans and a nice black leather coat, was leaning against the other side, holding a tiny Dalek wearing a sombrero in a jar and grinning happily.

Claude sat in Silver's desk chair and gauged her reaction, giving a satisfied smile at her speechlessness. Once she could finally speak, she looked at him with wide eyes.

"Claude...you...how did you do all of this...? I don't even..." she was at a loss for words: the demon had done well.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Silver. _This _is only the beginning. Hurry up and finish your classes so I can show you the rest." he said with a hint of mystery.

"Good luck topping the Valentine. That's pretty awesome! Thanks!"

Silver got ready for class quickly, and was about to rush out the door, but she paused and smiled. She walked to her desk and dug through it, humming happily to herself.

"I was going to wait until I got back to give you these, but I feel like I have to do it now." Silver spoke shyly, something Claude rarely heard from her.

She held her hands out to him, holding a hand-made card of her own, a box of chocolate, and a tiny stuffed spider. Claude's eyes went wide as he accepted them, reading the card with a small smile. She had drawn a chibi version of him on the front, and it looked...cute.

"Where did you find a stuffed spider?" he asked softly.

"There's a Halloween store here that stays open all year. I've gotta run, I can't be late for my Psychology test or the professor will kill me." Silver leaned up and gave the demon a quick kiss on the cheek, and he froze.

Silver smiled at the demon's stunned expression and waved goodbye before running out the door. After a moment, Claude sighed and managed to relax. He looked over the things Silver had given him in quiet thoughtfulness before smiling softly.

**The next chapter will be a continuation of this one. I'm just really tired right now. I have been super busy these past few days. I hope you liked all of that mush. Hee, what a great word. Mush. Anyway, hope you liked! Allons-y!**

**~Silver **


	19. A word or several from Silver

**Hello there, Silverlings! This is just a little note from little ole' me. First order of business-an apology. I'm soooo sorry I've not updated in weeks! I've been really busy! I'm a college student, and the workload has become absolutely INSANE! Plus, my confidence took a major blow recently, and I've had trouble being motivated to write. It'll come back soon, I promise. **

**Another little thing-I need your opinion on something. I'm going to attempt to write a screenplay soon, and I want some feedback on my villain. He is a mutated Ebola virus that mixed with human DNA to create a hominid who can spread this awful disease through touch. His name is Ebenezzer (Eben-eZZer) Zaire, and he's a Jamaican-looking man with brownish-red eyes. Wears a red fadorah and trench coat. Has a slight accent. Kills just for the fun of it. So, what do you think?**

**Anyway, I'll get to work on this fic, because I have several chapters planned for ya! Hope you've been liking it! Allons-y!**

**Yours in eternity, ~Silver**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 19**

**A Continuation of the Valentine's Mush That Apparently Was Much Loved**

Silver sat quietly at her spot at the long table, trying to keep her mind from wandering as she took the Psychology exam her professor had given the class. It was hard to keep her mind on the task before her: she kept wondering what Claude was up to. That demon could be as hard to read as a finance textbook, and seemed to delight in the fact. He also seemed to delight in the fact that Silver _wasn't _hard to read at all, unless she was in one of her rare bouts of silent thoughtfulness.

Silver sighed and turned to the last page on the exam, smiling softly as she saw that it was just matching psychologists with their important discoveries.

"Alright. Freud was Psychoanalytic Theory...and Lorenz was Imprinting..." she whispered to herself, making sure no-one could hear her.

It took her only a few more minutes to finish the exam and hand it in to her professor, and she walked happily down the library steps and toward the door. She wasn't at all surprised to see Claude, stoic as ever, standing outside the library with his signature facial expression (aka deadpan blank). He smiled a bit when she walked out into the open air and greeted him with a cheery hello.

"How was the exam?" Claude asked, falling into step next to Silver as she started walking up Chancellor's Walk.

"Ehh, it was an exam. Not much else to say. I'm pretty confident in my score, though. There were a few things that I think might have tripped me up, but I'm just glad it's done." Silver answered with a dismissive wave.

"Agreed. One can only listen to you read Psychoanalytic Theory out-loud so much."

Silver snorted and made a disgusted face.

"It's not my fault that Freud was a weirdo. I can't stand him. I'm just glad we can move on now." she sighed before turning to give Claude a curious look.

"So, what else has the ever-so-mysterious Claude Faustus got planned for me today?"

The demon smirked down at her and clicked his tongue.

"Ah, let me think...well, I've managed to get my hands on a boat, as well as knowledge of some of the best places to go for an island picnic. I was thinking we'd drop your stuff off at the dorm, then literally ship off to a little island where I've got everything set up." he replied.

"How do you manage to do such amazing things in such a short amount of time?"

"Well, most people think that time progresses in a strictly linear fashion. Actually, it's more of a mass of wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey...stuff." Claude quoted directly from Doctor Who, and Silver grinned.

"I thought I summoned a demon, not a Time Lord." she teased.

"Hell, maybe I've got Time Lord DNA mixed in somewhere." the demon said seriously, looking thoughtful.

"Certainly they're not real?" Silver asked quickly, thinking the demon was joking.

"Maybe, maybe not." Claude replied mysteriously.

Silver sighed, deciding she would pursue the subject another time. At the moment, she was just curious about what Claude had planned for her. She had only been to one of the islands around Wilmington, and that had been to help clean up the beach. She had no idea what exactly the spider had in store for her, and she was very curious to find out.

About thirty minutes later, Silver was beginning to find out just what Claude had in mind. Claude was leading her happily down one of the numerous docks in city toward a small white boat. Silver wasn't sure exactly _where _he had gotten the boat. Knowing him, it was best not to ask. The demon hummed softly to himself as he helped Silver into the boat and prepared it to sail. Within minutes they were roaring out of the little bay and out toward the open ocean.

Silver grinned as she looked around at the open ocean. She had never been on a boat out at sea before, and was eager to see where Claude was taking them. She had a friend who had promised to take her deep sea fishing at some point, but he had never been able to keep his word.

"Hey, Claude...can we go deep sea fishing sometime?" she asked as the demon maneuvered the boat toward a steadily approaching island.

"Hn? Yeah, sure, if you want. I don't have much experience with it, but it sounds interesting. What would you be fishing for?" he replied curiously.

"I don't know. Whatever bites, I guess."

Claude chuckled and shook his head.

"We will need different strengths of line, then. There's a big difference between the weight of a tuna and the weight of a shark." he warned gently.

"Trust me, if we were to catch a shark, I'd either cut the line of just let go of the fishing rod." Silver replied with a shudder at the mere thought of seeing a shark on her line.

The rest of the boat ride passed in silence as Silver thought about her past experiences with fishing. She had to admit that she seemed to have awful luck. She had never caught a single fish, and bad things seemed to happen when she tried. She even ended up with a fish hook caught through her lip once when she was young, and had to have it removed by a doctor.

Silver shook herself from her thoughts as the boat's engine stopped and they drifted onto a soft patch of sandy shoreline that had obviously been hand-worked by the demon. She was surprised to see a large blanket set out on a grassy knoll overlooking the sea. Silverware and plates were waiting for them, and Claude chuckled as he pulled a rather large picnic basket out from a compartment in the front of the boat. He jumped easily out of the boat and turned, holding his hand out to Silver with a charming smile. Silver blushed and smiled as she took it and allowed the demon to help her onto the ground.

By the time they reached the island the sun was beginning to sink toward the ocean, and Claude quickly lit a couple of candles so they could see. Silver smiled as Claude set everything up, giggling as she noted that while he had prepared samples of all sorts of fancy-looking dishes she probably couldn't even pronounce for her, he was happily munching on some of the candy he still had. The demon noticed her amusement and smirked.

"As I said a while back, sweet tooth." he said almost sheepishly.

"You made all of this for me, and nothing for yourself?" Silver asked curiously.

"Most human food is rather tasteless in my opinion, so there wouldn't be a point. In public, I eat to keep others from becoming suspicious. When we're alone, I can be myself, because you know who and what I am. And I'm glad of that. Now, look." the demon pointed out toward the water.

Silver's eyes lit up as she saw that the sun was setting, casting a reflection that made it look like the ocean was on fire. The oranges and reds reflected in her blue eyes, and Claude found himself watching her instead of the sunset. He smiled as she visibly relaxed, her eyes locked on the water as it burned before them. Claude finally smirked and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Silver. I love you."

"I love you, too."

**Ah, finally. This really isn't my thing. Anyway. Hope you like it! I'm back! And as a heads up to any Hetalia fans out there, I'm scheming a Hetalia/Dr. Who fic, and it does NOT involve the Doctor. I've decided to see what would happen if the Master got involved. Heh heh heh. Anyway, hope you liked it! Allons-y~!**

**~Silver**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 20**

"So, where are we going again?" Claude asked, fidgeting in the passenger seat of the car Silver had borrowed once again,

"We're going to the beach. My friend's mother has a beach house, and is going to let us stay there for the weekend. I thought it would be a nice break, since exams are coming up soon. I've been really stressed, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to fail Statistics." Silver sighed, keeping her attention on the road.

"I keep telling you I'll help you."

"I know, but it would take a miracle from God to save me now. And that usually does not work for an atheist..."

Claude sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Just know that I'm always here to help, and always will be." he replied.

Silver smiled and was about to reply, but was interrupted by flashing lights behind their car: red and blue lights.

"Oh, you have _got _to be kidding me..." she growled and quickly pulled over, parking and rolling down the window.

The officer slowly approached the car, and Silver did her best to give him a friendly smile.

"Hello there officer." she greeted numbly: she had never been pulled over before, and was freaking out on the inside.

"Hey. Do you have any idea how fast you were going?" the man asked somewhat haughtily.

"Uhm, 55? That's the speed limit, right?"

"Yeah, I clocked you at 75."

Silver and Claude sat in silence for a moment, then blinked in confusion.

"What? That's impossible, this car is 25 years old. It can't even hit that speed without shuddering, and it wasn't doing that." Silver tried to explain, but the cop would have none of it.

"License and registration, please." he droned.

Silver sighed and gestured for Claude to get said items out of the car's glove box. He narrowed his eyes slightly and dug around in the box, taking a few minutes to find the correct documents. Once he found them he handed them to the cop, locking eyes with him momentarily before letting him walk back to his car with them.

"He's lying through his teeth." the demon hissed angrily.

"Wh-what?" Silver gasped.

"Just trying to meet his quota. This old car sticks out, so he's picking on us. I can see it in his eyes."

Silver groaned and shook her head.

"I've never been pulled before..." she mumbled.

"Let me handle this, okay? We'll be fine. There's no need to get upset. Alright, here he comes." Claude smirked and waited for the cop to approach the car once again.

"It says that this car isn't yours, ma'am." the man said suspiciously.

"I didn't steal it, if that's what you're thinking. It's a friend's. She's letting us borrow it for a weekend break away from university." Silver muttered back, feeling rather angry with the whole situation.

"Well, I'm going to have to-"

"Rip up that ticket and let us go, and completely forget why you were over here in the first place." Claude finished, and his eyes glowed a light purple as he spoke before fading back to their usual gold.

The cop gave him a dazed look, then immediately ripped up the ticket and tossed the scraps to the ground. He walked jerkily back to his car and hopped in, and Silver watched in awe as he drove off without a single glance back at them. She gave a very pleased Claude an incredulous look.

"Claude...that was awesome! How did you do that? Jedi mind trick?" she asked with a relieved grin.

"Er, something like that, I suppose. Now, love, shall we continue? We're getting close to our destination. You need to take a left at the next red light, according to the map." Claude grinned, proud that he could help her out of such a sticky situation.

Silver nodded and pulled back onto the road, more eager than ever to reach the beach house and rest. She was exhausted, and the stress from being pulled over certainly didn't help. She was careful to keep an eye on how fast she was going, just in case, but they didn't run into any more trouble. In fact, the rest of the ride was quite peaceful.

Upon arrival to her friend's beach house, Silver grinned and jumped out of the car. She had been there a few times before, but was always amazed with how lucky she was to live so close to the beach. She carefully got the jar that her fish, Captain America (aka Steve. Yes, I really have this fish. He likes to travel.) out of the car, and carried it with her as she made her way to the front door of the two-story house. She used the key to open the door, relishing in the happiness that always came with vacation, no matter how short.

"Where do you want these?" Claude's voice came from behind her, and she turned to see that he was carrying both of their bags with ease.

"Oh, you can put them in the living room for now. I'm gonna put Cap in the sitting room, near the window, so he has a nice view of the beach." Silver grinned and set the jar near said window before running back to the living room and collapsing onto the couch.

Claude smirked and sat down beside her, relaxing a bit as the sky outside started to darken.

"Man, it feels good to finally be here. A little break from the insanity of school never hurt anyone. Plus, the first episode for the new season of Doctor Who comes on tomorrow, so we can watch it as it airs! Thank you BBC and Steven Moffat!" Silver giggled gently.

"You're _thanking _Moffat? You're usually cursing him for killing off your favorite characters." Claude pointed out.

"He's a brilliant writer. If I meet him I want to hug him, punch him in the jaw, and then apologize profusely as I'm dragged out by security."

"Then let us hope you never meet him."

**Hello guys! Sorry this took so long! I've been a busy bee! I'll get back on this, as much has happened! YAY! Allons-y~!**

**~Silver **


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 21**

Several weeks had passed since Silver and Claude had gone to the beach, and a lot had happened in that time. Silver took (and passed) all of her exams. Her parents bought a new dog, so they now had three dogs, three cats, a guinea pig, and Silver's fish. Silver and Claude both went to spend the Summer months at her parent's house.

Our quirky duo now found themselves walking through one of the nation's largest airports, searching for their gate. Silver had taken a class on British and Irish Archaeology, and was going to take a two-week trip over to said countries to see some of the sites that had been discussed in class. Of course Claude wasn't going to stay behind. Goodness only knew what kind of trouble his over-curious master could get herself into in a different country, especially seeing that she had never flown before. In fact, she was very loath to fly now.

"Are you sure there isn't some way for you to take us over there?" Silver asked, looking more nervous than he had ever seen her: she had a horrid fear of heights.

"Yes, love. Don't worry, everything is going to be fine. I'll be there with you, so there's nothing to worry about." Claude tried, for perhaps the millionth time, to calm her down.

"Oh, I know. I'm just...really not looking forward to this. If humans were meant to fly we would have evolved wings." the anxious young woman grumbled.

"Think about all of the interesting places we are going to see. The British Museum, Dun Aghasa, Lough Crew, Stonehenge..." Claude smirked as Silver's eyes lit up.

"I know! That's going to be brilliant! Stonehenge! The Pandorica is opening!"

Claude chuckled at the Doctor Who reference, a phrase she had promised herself she would scream the moment she was amongst those ancient stones. He knew that she was beyond excited about this trip, but he himself was a little anxious. Their first few nights would be spent in London, and he hadn't been there since Victorian times. He had enemies from those times who, for all he knew, could still be skulking around the massive city. He would have to be very careful while they were there.

After a few minutes of wandering the crowded airport, they finally found their gate and sat down. They were going to be flying into another airport to catch a connecting flight over to Heathrow Airport, London. There they would meet the rest of the class, and the professor, to begin exploring the massive city. The two sat down and relaxed a bit: they still had an hour before their plane was scheduled to begin boarding.

"Do you have everything? Passport, insurance card, photo ID?" Claude asked.

"Yes mom. Do you?" Silver grinned back at him.

"Indeed."

"So now we wait."

"So now we wait."

And wait they did. One hour quickly turned into two, then two and a half. Apparently there was an issue with the plane, which certainly did not settle Silver's stomach at all. Claude watched with narrowed eyes as people crowded around the help desk nearby, demanding explanations as to why their flight had been delayed so much. Finally, the plane began boarding, and the couple rushed into their seats.

"Oh, I really hope we don't miss our connecting flight because of this." Silver mused anxiously, clutching the arm rests in a death-grip.

"If we do, the airline will set up another flight for us." Claude reassured her.

"Yeah, I know. Ugh, I'm not going to like this."

Claude smirked and patted her head.

"Relax. You might find yourself enjoying being thousands of feet in the air in a big metal bird." he chuckled at the horrified expression that crossed her face.

"Not helping, Claude."

"I didn't really think it would."

"Ass."

"What about it?"

Silver went to retort, but was only successful in giving a sharp yelp as the plane started to slowly taxi toward the runway. Claude smiled and took one of her hands, trying to calm her down. It worked: until the engines roared to life and the plane sped up.

"Oh sweet crimmeny Jim-Jim." Silver gasped as she felt the plane lift into the air.

"It's okay. Look out the window, Silver."

She did as the demon asked, and immediately regretted it. The city below was quickly shrinking into just a mass of lights. Her grip on Claude's hand tightened, and she gulped.

"Claude?"

"Yes?"

"I don't like flying."

"I can see that."

Silver sighed and tried to relax, slowing her breathing back to a normal rate. Thankfully this was only an hour flight. Their one over the Atlantic Ocean was going to be nine hours, and she only hoped she could sleep on the plane. She highly doubted it. The feeling of the plane moving beneath her feet made her uneasy, not to mention the ever-retreating city lights below. She didn't understand how Claude could be so relaxed, but as he was a demon, being thousands of feet in the air probably didn't bother him at all. In fact, not much really did bother him.

"Are you feeling better, my lady?" Claude asked, noticing her quietness.

"Not really, but I'll be fine. It's just a silly little airplane. It feels a little like riding a Greyhound bus." She said softly, trying to fool herself into believing it.

"Yes. A Greyhound bus with cleaner restrooms." Claude chuckled.

"I can't imagine standing up to walk to a restroom on this flying metal death trap."

"You're going to have to, as our next flight is nine hours."

"If we make our next flight."

"Either way, a nine hour flight awaits us in the near future."

"...ugh..."

**Short chapter. Sorry! I've been busy. It's Summer break, and I'm trying to plan visits with friends and family. I've been doing a lot of house cleaning too. Ugh. Claude, come clean all this crap for me! Huff. Anyway, I'll be writing about my adventures in England and Ireland for a little while, including all of the pub visits, TARDIS hunting, and nearly getting hit by a double-decker bus! Allons-Y~!**

**~Silver **


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 22**

Silver groaned and leaned back, feeling her stomach drop yet again as the plane descended. It had been a long couple of days for her and her demonic companion. The delaying of their first plane had made them miss their flight to London by a mere 15 minutes, which had infuriated Silver. Claude had never heard her string so many foul words together at once, and it was quite surprising to him. Luckily, they had been able to get a flight for the next night, and stayed in a nice hotel. Now they were about to land at Heathrow airport, and Claude could see the exhaustion written across the young woman's face.

"Are you alright?" he asked, leaned over to her slightly to whisper into her ear.

"I'm just jet-lagged. No worries. We're late, so everyone is already out and about. We can rest, and tomorrow we'll be able to tour London with them tomorrow! Besides, I hear Eurovision is on." Silver grinned: she loved the famous singing competition, and the opportunity to see it in England excited her for some reason.

Claude sighed and rolled his eyes.

"You're sleeping when we get to the Grange Strathmore, Silver. Eurovision can wait." he scolded her gently.

"It comes on late anyway, so I can get some shut-eye before it even starts."

Claude smirked and leaned back in his tiny airline seat, eying Silver as she clung desperately to his hand. They had been on a few planes now, and still flying made her extremely anxious. Landing was easily her favorite part. She visibly relaxed as they stepped out of the plane and started following the other passengers to the immigration line.

"How are you, love?" Claude asked with a small smile as they got into the line.

"Fine now that both of my feet are on the ground. I'll be doing much better once I've collapsed onto that bed at the hotel." Silver replied.

They passed through immigration and customs with ease, and soon found themselves retrieving their bags and looking for the cab driver that had been sent to get them. A man waited absently at the foot of a long stairway, holding a sign with "Faustus" written across it. The couple smiled and greeted him cheerily, and he returned their smiles with one of his own.

"Hallo. I'm here to drive you two to the Grange Strathmore Hotel. Let me get your bags for you." he said, his accent thick and certainly not British.

"Thank you, but I can handle the bags." Claude replied cordially, taking both his and Silver's suitcase and dragging them behind him.

The man nodded and led them out of the massive airport and out to a large parking deck. He chattered happily in his unusual accent as he led them to a small taxi, and paused only to allow them to load their bags and get into the car. They left rather quickly, and Silver soon found herself giggling as they drove on the other side of the road from what she was used to. The cab driver seemed to enjoy their company, even though Claude sat silently as they rode through the streets of London.

It had been years since the demon had been to this archaic city, and much had changed in that time. It was even larger than it had already been, and looked much more industrialized. He could only hope that old enemies had long left the city. He knew he could protect Silver from anyone or anything out there, of course. He simply didn't want to have to.

"So, where are you from?" Silver asked their driver, shaking Claude from his thoughts.

"My wife and I moved here from Romania five years ago." the man replied, his smile falling slightly.

"Why?"

The man sighed.

"There were no jobs in Romania." he said, smiling again.

"Are there jobs in America?" he asked curiously.

Silver chuckled and shook her head, and he laughed as well.

"Romania is a beautiful country, but I like it here as well. I work here, and spend time with my wife. There is a lot to keep us busy with in the city." he paused as his phone rang, and he answered it quickly.

The rest of the ride was spent listening to their driver chatter in Romanian. Silver and Claude were both getting irritated by the time the cab pulled in front of a large hotel. Claude got their bags out of the trunk as Silver went in and got their key. Within another ten minutes, they were collapsed on a large bed in a nice room decorated in blue.

"Thank goodness we finally made it here, Claude. I'm so tired." Silver grumbled to him, pulling a pillow to herself and curling up around it.

Claude smirked and curled up around her.

"Then sleep. You'll need your energy tomorrow. We've got a big day ahead of us."

"Yeah, that's true. I can hardly wait to explore the city. The professor left us each a card key to the London Tube, but I really don't feel like getting lost in this massive city."

"You wouldn't get lost with me there. I may not have been here in a while, but I'm sure I can guide you through London without us getting lost."

Silver smirked at him sleepily and chuckled.

"We'll see about that after we take the tour tomorrow with the class. I've heard that there's a replica TARDIS somewhere in the city, and it'll take a demon's eye to spy it in this huge place." She said before allowing her exhaustion to pull her into sleep.

Claude smirked and carefully climbed off the bed, striding evenly to the window and parting the curtain. He sighed as he stared out at the bustling mid-day scene playing out below. He could only hope that things had improved here since his days with the Trancy brat. Surviving that had been hard enough. He closed the curtains and returned to Silver's side, deciding to leave the worrying for another day.

**Sorry it's been so long. I've been really busy lately. That, and the recent death of my grandfather really shook me up. I hope to get more writing done soon. Allons-y~!**

**~Silver**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Silver grinned happily as the tour progressed. The whole group followed their guide, a brisk ex-cop named Bob, through the crowded city of London. They had been going for a good four hours now, and were on their way to a pub for dinner. The tour had been very in-depth, and they saw things from the old Roman Amphitheater to a couple of the places where Jack the Ripper's victims had been found. Claude had sighed at the mention of the famous case, but upon Silver's hushed questioning had waved it off. It had been tough for the group to keep up with Bob, as he was spry even in his older age, and traffic in London made anywhere else look like a cake walk.

The group followed Bob to a small pub near a large cathedral. It was a quaint little place, and soon all 18 of them were seated around a long rectangular table. Silver was rather surprised when Claude strode to the bar and returned with a pint of beer, but then again almost everyone was drinking the stuff. Silver had never been a fan of any sort of alcohol, so she stuck with a glass of soda instead. The demon grinned and clinked his glass against hers before downing a good bit of the drink.

"Why aren't you trying any Guinness, Silver? The drinking age in the UK and Ireland is 18. It's perfectly legal." Claude asked.

"One, I want to try it in Ireland, where it's made. Two, I don't want to be drunk on the hunt for a TARDIS later. And three, I don't much like alcohol anyway. It's so sour and gross." Silver pulled a disgusted face, and Claude's lips twitched up into an amused smile.

"Suit yourself."

Dinner passed quickly, with much laughter and chatting, and several questions about the city aimed at Bob. Once most of the group had filtered out of the pub, headed sleepily back to the Tube station to return to their hotel, Silver approached the aged former cop.

"Excuse me, sir. I was wondering if you knew where we could find an old Police Call Box? One of the really big, dark blue ones that were popular in the 60's?" she asked.

Bob furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, then smiled good-naturedly.

"There's one near the old Roman Amphitheater we went by earlier. Do you want me to show you on a map?" he asked.

"No thank you. I remember where that was. Thanks so much sir, and have a good night!" Silver grinned and lead Claude from the restaurant.

"Alright Claude, where's the Amphitheater?" she asked with a sheepish grin. She honestly didn't remember at all, but suspected that her demonic companion could guide her safely to their destination.

Claude chuckled and took the lead on this little venture, stoically guiding the excited young woman through the busy streets of London. He pointed out interesting places Bob hadn't had time to show them on the way, and Silver soaked up the information like an overexcited little sponge. He chuckled at her almost feverish enthusiasm: she really was enthralled by the place.

Finally they returned to the Roman Amphitheater, little more than crumbling steps now. They began looking around for the familiar big blue box, sharp eyes gleaming in the sun. It was still a few hours from sunset, but the sun was slowly settling close to the skyline. After a few minutes of poking around, Claude made a rather disappointing discovery.

He had found the police box Bob had mentioned, but it was certainly no TARDIS. It was much too small, and was a very light shade of blue. It was also boarded up, so unless Claude ripped it open, there was no way inside. Silver groaned: her legs felt like jello, and walking all the way over to the area had been a real chore for her. To find that it had been for nothing was a serious let-down.

"Ugh...really? Well, I guess we would need to go to the BBC studio in Cardiff where they film the show to find a real TARDIS." Silver muttered under her breath, drawing her purple jacket closer to herself.

Claude wrapped a lithe arm around her waist and guided her away from the disappointing little box.

"That's in Wales. We will have to make a return trip." he replied smoothly.

"I know. Maybe for graduation. I want to explore more of Europe anyway. I want to see the Kremlin in Russia sometime! And Rome! I'd love to visit Asia, and see the pyramids in Egypt, and all sorts of places!" Silver grinned widely.

"I will make sure that you see all of that and more. You will travel to the ends of the Earth, with me at your side to show you things no human has ever seen. I promise."

Silver grinned and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you." she whispered before releasing him and continuing toward the Tube station.

As much as she would have loved to explore more of the massive city, Silver was growing quite tired. They had spent the entire day on their feet, and she was certain that she would be sore in the morning. Plus, they were probably going to be getting up early again tomorrow, so it was wise to get as much sleep as possible.

The two soon found themselves riding the Tube, London's subway train, back toward the hotel. Once they got off, it was a relatively short walk back. Silver was reluctant to walk another step, but it would be weird for Claude to scoop her up and carry her back. So, with a minimal amount of grouching and complaining, the odd couple ambled up the street toward the hotel.

**Hey guys. Sorry I've slowed down. I've been busy getting ready for my second year of college. Plus, my grandfather's death still has me shaken up. Anyway, hope you like this!**

**~Silver**


End file.
